Category Archives: Community

MHJC School App

Mission Heights Junior College have released a school app available for parents and caregivers to download. This app is available at no charge for Android and iOS devices. The MHJCApp allows the school community to receive information on school events, news and personalised notices from the school.

Download Links

The Android MHJCApp is available on Google Play;

Get it on Google Play

The iOS MHJCApp is available on the Apple App Store;

Download on the App Store

Adding a Student ID

To receive personalised notices for your child you will need their student ID card. You can add their student ID by going into the settings menu within the app and tap on “Add Student ID”. This will use the camera on your phone or tablet to take a picture of their ID card, which allows you to receive automatic notices from the school about sports practices, field trips, etc.

Annual Student Achievement Report 2015

Principal’s Report on Student Achievement 2015

In 2015 Mission Heights Junior College students continued to  enjoy high levels of success across the four cornerstones, academic, cultural, sport and leadership through service. We enjoyed many successes in a wide range of regional,  national and international  competitions.

I am proud to present a summary of the school’s achievements in 2015.

Academic achievement

National Standards (Year 7 and 8)

Students in Years 7 and 8 are assessed against National Standards in Reading, Writing and Mathematics.

At the end of 2015, 76.4% of Year 7 students were assessed as being at or above standard in Reading. At the end of Year 8 the percentage at or above standard was 78.1%

In writing Year 7 results were 71.4% at or above standard and in Year 8, 72.7%. In Maths by the end of Year 7  74.1% of students were at or above standard and at the end of Year 8  81% of students were at or above standard.

National standards results for all schools are reported in detail to and by the Ministry of Education.

E asTTle (Year 9 and 10)

As students are not assessed against National Standards in Years 9 and 10 the following data is based only on e-asTTle testing. The testing in Mathematics was based all strands of the Mathematics curriculum. Overall teacher judgements would take into account broader data sets including NCEA results, where applicable, and a broader range of testing data.

In Reading 77.9% of students tested at or above the curriculum level and 63.8% in Maths. In Year 10 the figures were 47.6% and 42.9% respectively.

Progress data

If student achievement levels are to be raised it is important to monitor the rate at which students are progressing. This is done by using “effect size” calculations based on e-asTTle pre and post testing. Overall students are making excellent progress.

In Year 7 Reading,  86.5% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths 95% made at least the expected progress over the year. 62.2% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 73.6% in Maths.  34.6% of students actually made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 45.7% did so in Maths.

In Year 8 Reading,  79% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 93% . 44% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 75 % in Maths.  17% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 49 % did so in Maths.

In Year 9 Reading,  74 % of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 89 % . 40% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 49 % in maths.  21% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 24 % did so in Maths.

In Year 10 Reading,  76 % of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 83 % . 40 % made greater than expected progress in Reading and 46 % in Maths.  16 % of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 12 % did so in Maths.

NCEA

Unlike most other schools we offer all our Year 10 students an opportunity  to attempt NCEA Achievement Standards in Year 10 as our key purpose is to prepare students as they transition  into  Year 11 in their new school.  Our objective is to provide students, regardless of ability an understanding of the NCEA system of assessment and confidence in their ability to succeed without compromising their ability to improve their achievement level further in Year 11.

In summary, our 2015 results show that 32% of our students gained 20 credits or more, and 15% of students gained 25 credits or more.

An outstanding 90% achievement rate was achieved.

Significantly, 51% of the credits achieved were at Merit or Excellence level.

ncea-2015-1ncea-2015-2

Academic Competitions

Once again in 2015 all of our students had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of Academic Competitions with a great deal of individual and team success.

IPENZ Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards

Three teams from Mission Heights Junior College gained merit awards in the senior section of this competition.This competition sees students working with engineering mentors to develop technological solutions to an issue/area of concern that the students have identified in their school or community.  The school is developing an impressive record of success, having also been awarded prizes in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

MHJC Science Fair and NIWA Manukau Region Science & Technology Fair

Our annual Science Fair had a record number of entries in the year 7 and 8 categories, complimenting our year 9 and 10 entries.  From the school fair, 46 of students represented MHJC at the NIWA Manukau Region Science and Technology Fair on Sunday 10 August.  The regional fair was hosted in the MHJC Middlemiss Theatre with 18 other participating schools. Our students were successful, earning the following awards:

First Place in Scientific Photography; Best Project by a Maori Student; Best use of Statistics (Second Place); Best Use of Flour (Second Place); Innovation Prize for Best Year 9 Project and Innovation Prize for Best Year 10 Project.

ICAS, Maths and Science Competitions

Following trends from previous years, students performed to a high standard in each of our ICAS competitions.  Students participated in spelling, writing, computing, mathematics, science and digital technologies tests this year.  Achievements of Distinction and High Distinction were awarded to 41 students, with ICAS maths being our strongest area. Students achieving Distinction and High Distinction  are in the top 1-10% of all students who sat nationally.

Students also participated with success in the Junior Mathematics Competition, the Otago University Problem Challenge and the Big Science Competition.

Mathex is always an exciting school event,  and 2015 was no different.  Staff, students, parents and past students turned out to let their math skills shine.  Teams from MHP and Ormiston also entered to build stronger ties with our feeder schools.  Our top mathematicians were then selected by Mrs Taneja to represent MHJC in six teams at the Auckland Mathex event.  Our students performed admirably up against very tough opposition,  and thoroughly enjoyed this exciting evening of mathematics.  One of our year 7 team scored 95/100 and came 5th out of 110 teams. Our year 8 team scored 90/100 and came 6th out of 110 teams.

Crest Awards

In 2015, 25 year 9 students earned a Bronze Crest Award and 28 students in year 10 earned Silver Crest Awards for their hard work on various projects, including Science Fair, IPENZ and CodeWorx challenges. To achieve Silver Crest Awards in Year 10 is impressive, as most recipients are Year 12 students.

Education Perfect and Language Exams

With such a diverse community our students are able to speak a number of languages.  This fact shone true as MHJC came first internationally in the Language Perfect category, beating over 1000 schools from around the world.  Students came first in New Zealand in Maori, Samoan, Italian, and Indonesian and second in Japanese.

Globally, we performed very well.  Collectively our students earned MHJC a second in the world for Social Studies, third in English, fourth in Science, and fifth in Maths.  To accomplish these amazing feats students earned individuals awards; 63 Elite awards, 106 Gold awards, 45 Silver award and 83 Bronze awards.

Students also participated in ALC examinations.  These examinations have oral and written examinations in a range of foreign  languages.  Out students earned  Distinction and High Distinction awards in both examinations.

Burger Battle

2015 marked the first year a team of students entered a food technology competition. After battling it out at school, the winning duo headed to the Auckland Council Burger Battle competition held at the annual Food Show.  Students designed and presented unique burgers to top chefs from New Zealand. Our team took away a “Merit” award for their efforts.

In 2016 the school will look to continue with the well-established competitions that we have entered for many years,  whilst also looking to broaden our scope of competitions and experiences offered to our students.

Sport

Once again participation and success increased in sporting activities in 2015 across a broad range of sporting competitions.  Students have opportunities to participate in the sporting cornerstone through both extra curricular opportunities and very effectively through our personalised DEEP programme.

Cricket

2015

Our Year 7&8 Boys cricket team placed 3rd in the South Eastern Zone competition. They also took part in the Auckland knock out cup and competed in 4 exciting games, winning one of the four. Our Year 9&10  Cricket team once again were undefeated this season and were therefore winners of the Term 1 competition.

Netball

Our Year 7 and 8  girls netball team  attended the AIMS games in Tauranga for the second time and at the end of the grading round were placed in the B grade. This was a big achievement and a challenge for our team who played with passion and commitment at this high level.  They also played in the Y9&10 Howick Pakuranga Netball competition and they finished 1st.

We also had 2 teams entering the SEZ tournament in which they finished in the C grade and played some good netball

At year 9 and 10 our teams enjoyed success. Our MHJC Yr 9 and 10  A team came second in their division and our Yr 10A team excelled, in the final tournament achieving second place in the final against MHJC Junior A team.

Our Premier team also entered the Auckland Netball competition for the first time and was graded in the B grade where we finished second. This team showed that Mission Heights can compete against any school.

Football

Our Year 7 and 8 boys football team attended the AIMS Games for the second time and enjoyed a number of hard fought games. This team finished in the top 10 teams of the tournament.

Our Y7 team entered the SEZ tournament and finished 3rd in the tournament.

Our Y8 team also entered the SEZ tournament and also finished 3rd.

Our Year 9 and 10 girls took fourth place in their the Greater Auckland Junior B competition.

Our Year 9 and 10 Boys team won their competition for a third time, beating Rosehill A in an exciting final. They also entered the Auckland knock out cup competition losing to  Auckland Grammar.
Basketball

In 2015 we again hosted the ABSL Year 7 and 8 competition and fielded 18 teams in the first and second semester tournaments.

Our Year 7 and 8  boys and girls were South Eastern Zone finalists and our U15 Girls team reached the top 2 in the regional competition, which is an outstanding achievement.

Our u/17 boys finished 8th overall in the Counties Manukau league.

In a 3 on 3 competition a Mission Heights Team was B grade winners.

Swimming

We were again well represented at  the SEZ swimming competition with 17 swimmers and this year one of our swimmers Victor Chua competing in the NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships won gold and  3 silver medals.

Athletics

In the  Eastern zone Athletics MHJC took our biggest team yet to the meeting. We took 45 athletes. All students did really  well and our Y7 boys relay team won their race and qualified for the Auckland Champs where they placed 3rd.

Cross Country:

We took a team of year 9 &10 students to the the Counties Manukau cross country competition for the first time and the students did really well.

We also took 30 runners to the SEZ meeting and we had two runners placed in the top 10.

Tennis:

We took 6 tennis players to SEZ tournament and we competed very well all the matches we played. Kevin Fu finished second in the singles competitions.

Badminton:

We took a Badminton team to the AIMS Games for the first time, and we did really well. Our doubles team won a Gold medal. All five of our singles players placed in the top 20. We also placed 2nd in the team competition.

We also entered the SEZ competition and won the doubles and singles competitions.

Touch:

We entered our Y 7&8 mixed touch team into the SEZ tournament. We placed 4th overall with a lot of games having very close scores.

Our Y 9&10 girls touch team entered the u/15 Manukau touch tournament for the first time and we finished 7th overall.

Culture

Performing Arts

In 2015 our students were able to share their talents across a wide range of performance opportunities. We had our traditional in-school events; the Talent Quest and a Winter Wonderland themed  Santa Show.  We also had our second Maori and Pasifika Achievement Evening with it proving another huge success. As always our students made our school community extremely proud with their commitment and talent in school and across the community.

Cultural Food Festival

We celebrated our bi-annual Cultural Food Festival.  This is a huge undertaking by staff and students and supported by Family and Friends.  Each Whanau sells food from a range of cultures to our community in a effort to raise money for graduation.  It is a busy but fun way to open our school to the community.

Dance Sport

Once again our Year 7 and 8 students had an opportunity to compete in an MHJC Dance Sport competition in term 3 learning four styles of Ballroom dance: Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha Cha and Jive.  We had two couples attend this competition and both got placings in the top 10.

Visual Arts

Work by 10 of our art students was showcased in the annual Auckland Middle Schools Art Association Exhibition for Year 7 & 8 students held at the Corban Art Centre in September.  

Cultural Celebrations

Cultural Dress days are, as always a fun and important part of sharing our cultural diversity.  Students participate in many language/cultural days and compete in a cultural dress competition and staff support this event with their colourful traditional wear and costumes.

Public speaking

This year we hosted the both the year 7 & 8 APPA Easter Zone Competition and the 9 & 10 Eastern Zone Speech competitions where Oliver Davies was placed 2nd in Year 9 and Victor Chua placed 2nd in Year 10.

We also did well in the international language speech competitions.  With Moriah Lino placing 1st  in Nuien speeches, John Yang 2nd in Cantonese.

Debating

We had a good run in debating in 2015. Our two teams failed to make the October finals but some great foundation work was laid for the 2016 season and our teams had a lot of fun and learned a lot about how to debate and speak in public.

Ormiston Community Christmas in the Courtyard

Our students also had the opportunity to perform at the Christmas in the Courtyard event held by the Ormiston Community Group. This was a fun way for some of our top performers to finish the year.

Service Leadership

The 2015  Executive Council created a new competition which promotes the four cornerstones and inter whanau competition. Four activities which represent the four cornerstones were chosen to decide the trophy which was presented at the end of year Prize Giving. The council also raised money from their popular discos in term 1,2 and 3 to purchase TV monitors for each whanau which will be used to raise awareness of student activities and achievements. The council members showed a high level of maturity and leadership throughout the year. The degree to which we show trust and faith in these student leaders is that they had a significant voice in the selection of our new Principal. They interviewed short-listed candidates and provided their feedback to the interview committee.

Our whanau councils take the lead role in organising whanau assemblies and, in some whanau in 2015 student curriculum committees actively contributed to ideas for learning contexts.

We value the service of our road patrollers, our librarians, ICT crew, and our sports and  cultural councils.   Other opportunities to lead and serve are available through Wai Care, the Enviro Council, Travelwise and Trees for Survival.

Five Year 10 students once again represented Mission Heights Junior College at the  Singapore Young Leaders Convention where they worked with other students from across the globe to address issues affecting youth.  

The school continued to support a wide range of community organisations including SPCA,  Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Starship Hospital, and the Cancer Society. A number of students had the opportunity to attend the Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi.

We realise the importance of preparing our student leaders to be effective in their roles. Accordingly an introductory leadership training workshop was held on 25th November 2015. This training run by World Vision was successful in getting students to look at the attributes of a good leader. Based on the success of this initial training,  the following training programmes have been booked for our students for this year: Young Leadership Program, GRIP training program and the KATTI training program directed at upskilling our Maori students

Systems have been put in place to streamline the leadership selection and appointment process. A digital system was set up to allow students to choose their leadership positions. Effect size student data analysed in 2015 showed there was a clear correlation between student engagement and the number of cornerstones that students participated in. Students that take on too many formal leadership positions, requiring a year long commitment, found themselves over-committed and this negatively impacted upon their academic achievement. Similarly it was found that students who did not participate in any leadership positions showed less engagement resulting in regression in progress. Based on these findings it was decided that students be limited to three formal leadership positions for the year. The new system also allowed teacher input into students’ leadership selections resulting in students being offered positions which whilst allowing them to work to their strengths also challenge them to be GREAT leaders.  Furthermore, this system ensured that all students were given a chance to apply and be considered for the various leadership positions being offered.

Travelwise

Mission Heights Junior College is committed getting our students to school safely. We promote sustainable travel (cycling, scootering, and walking) throughout the year and offer parents information on a variety of alternative travel options.

Pedestrian Crossing_Mum and Daughter_Primary

Biking and Scootering

There is a lot of parking available for our bikes and scooters throughout the day.  Students can bring locks to keep their helmets and bike/scooter together.

bikesScooter racks

Walking / Park and Walk

First and foremost we encourage all students to walk to school.  Mission Heights is a safe neighbourhood and walking to school is a great way for students to stay active.

Below is a map where you can park and drop students off.  The proposed drop off points are 400 metres or less from the school.  Additionally, most drop off locations don’t require students to cross the road. Students can also easily access the pedestrian crossings on Jeffs and Valderama Roads.

Travelwise Park and Walk Times

Taking the Bus

If your child/ren travel to school via the bus, you can plan their trip to school using the Auckland Transport Journey Planner. The Planner allows you to select the starting and ending points of the journey and the time you want to leave/arrive.  You will be provided with bus options and the prices.

Visit the Journey Planner at https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/.

AT Hop Cards

Students receive discounts on bus fares when they use a special bus pass – Auckland Transport HOP CARD.  The cards can be purchased at local retailers or the kiosk at Botany Town Centre. More information about the cards can be found here.

Learn how to use a HOP Card by watching the video here.

Hop Card

Travelwise

Information for Students

Safety at School

Remember to wear your helmet correctly when cycling or scootering to school.

See the link below to view the guide to fit your helmet.

Helmet Fitting Guide

Travelwise Activities

Check out some photos of the activities we organized this year!

  • Bike and scooter races
  • Bike training (off street)
  • “How a scooter will change my life” writing contest
  • Walking to school – free prizes for walkers
  • Slow down around schools – checking the speed of our drivers in the morning
  • A Wheelie Good Race competition

bike racebikeradar gunScooter raceslow downScreen Shot 2014-11-18 at 12.07.19 pm

School Board

Anne Singh
Presiding Member
Paul Hale
Parent Representative
Jenny Wang
Parent Representative
Leeroy Hohepa
Board Member
Rhys Attwood
Parent Representative
Ian Morrison
Principal
Douglas Choong
Staff Representative
Ianny Pori
Parent Representative
Neil Mathew
Student Representative
studentboardrep@mhjc.school.nz

We advise the community that School Board minutes are available on request from the Board secretary.

School Board Meeting Minutes

Mission Heights Junior College School Charter

Principal’s Annual Student Achievement Reports

Annual Student Achievement Report 2014

Principal’s Report on Student Achievement 2014

In 2014 Mission Heights Junior College students continued to enjoy high levels of success across the four cornerstones, academic, cultural, sport and leadership through service. We enjoyed many successes in a wide range of regional, national and international competitions.

I am proud to present a summary of the school’s achievements in 2014.

Academic

NCEA

In 2014 results for our 150 Year 10 students in NCEA showed further gains on 2013 levels across all of the following indicators.

Unlike most other schools we offer all our Year 10 students an opportunity to attempt NCEA Achievement Standards in Year 10 as our key purpose is to prepare them as they transition into Year 11 in a new school. All students, regardless of ability, should be moving into Year 11 with an added degree of understanding and confidence about NCEA without compromising the opportunity for challenge in raising their achievement level further in Year 11.

For those who achieved credits or gained Merit and Excellence grades the achievement of these a year in advance is a great achievement.

  • 133 students attained one or more Achievement Standard meaning that 88.6% of our Year 10s moved to their new school already having achieved credits at level 1.
  • 89 students (59.3%) attained at least one or more Achievement Standard at Merit level
  • 54 students (36%) attained at least one or more Achievement Standard at Excellence level
  • 18 student (12%) gained more than 15 credits
  • 29 students (19.3%) gained more than 20 credits – one quarter of the credits required at level 1
  • 12 students (8%) gained 15credits or more, at Merit level (or better) toward the 50 required for Level 1 Endorsement with Merit
  • In addition, a further 7 students (4.6%) gained15 credits or more at Excellence level toward the 50 required for Level 1 Endorsement with Excellence
  • Two students gained 27 credits at Excellence level which means they already have over half the credits required for this Endorsement.

National Standards Achievement (Year 7 and 8)

Students in Years 7 and 8 are assessed against National Standards in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. At the end of 2014, 73.6% of Year 7 students were assessed as being at or above standard in Reading. At the end of Year 8 the percentage at or above standard was 77.9%

In writing Year 7 results were 70.5% at or above standard and in Year 8, 69.5%. In maths by the end of Year 7 68.1% of students were at or above standard and at the end of Year 8 70.8% of students were at or above standard.
National Standards results for all schools are reported in detail to and by the Ministry of Education.

E AsTTle Year 9 and 10

As students are not assessed against National Standards in Years 9 and 10 the following data is based on ly on E asTTle testing. The testing in mathematics was based on testing in two strands of the curriculum; algebra and number. Overall teacher judgements would take into account broader data sets including NCEA results, where applicable and a broader range of testing data.

In reading 77.9% of students tested at or above the curriculum level in Reading and 63.8% in maths. In Year 10 the figures were 47.6% and 42.9% respectively.

Progress

If student achievement levels are to be raised it is important to monitor the rate at which students are progressing. This is done by using “effect size” calculations based on E AsTTle pre and post testing. Overall students are making excellent progress.
These results show that in Year 7 Reading, 90.7% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and in maths 90.6% made at least the expected progress over the year. 74.8% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 68.6% in maths. 39.7% of students are actually made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 38.5% did so in Maths.

In Year 8 Reading, 87% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and in maths the figure was 86.6% . 67% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 64.4% in maths. 45.4% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 29.8% did so in Maths.

In Year 9 Reading, 84.8% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and in maths the figure was 86.6% . 55.6% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 55.5% in maths. 28.1% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 16.5% did so in Maths.

In Year 10 Reading, 74.7% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and in maths the figure was 78.4% . 43% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 43.8% in maths. 18.3% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 18.8% did so in Maths.

Academic Competitions

We were very proud, as a school, to experience high level success in not one, but 8 different national and international academic competitions. This is amazing and is a credit to the ability and hard work of the students involved.

In June 2014 a group of Year 10 students represented us, and New Zealand, in the United States at the International Future Problem Solving Competition. The group not only one 1st place in their division but went on to win the “Beyonder Award”. This is the supreme award for Community Problem Solving and has only once before been won by a New Zealand team in the 40 year history of this competition.

This year again, a number of students students from our Year 9 and Year 10 Accelerate classes participated in the Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards competition.

For the second consecutive year, a group of our Year 9 students won the top prize nationally being named as overall winners in the Senior Section- Year 9 to 13 of the competition. The majority of students competing in this senior category are much older, which makes the success all the more impressive. In addition another group of students received a Highly Commended Award in this competition.

The winning group were given the opportunity to represent New Zealand at a Science & Technology Symposium for Youth in Singapore in January 2015 where they presented the results of their work.

Year 10 students from the Business Studies option placed 2nd in New Zealand in the Young Enterprise Trust, EPIC Challenge.

Mission Heights Junior College students won both the individual and the team sections of the Codeworx Challenge. This coding competition is again open to students in Years 9-13 and to win both divisions is a major achievement. The CEO of Orion Health, which sponsors the competition visited the school to present prizes and our success was featured on 3 News.

Two Year 9 Media Studies students placed in the top 3 nationally of the “Words Hurt” video competition run by the Mental Health Foundation and a Year 8 student was a national category winner in the “Outlook for Someday” silent short film competition with his animated film relating to deforestation.

Two Year 10 Graphics students took first and second place respectively in the National Young Designers Awards with their original designs of book covers.

Our students once again achieved Distinctions and High Distinctions in every single ICAS competition, whether it was spelling, writing, computing, mathematics or science with 33 individual students being recognised for achieving this level. Students also participated with success in the Junior Mathematics Competition the Otago University Problem Challenge and the Big Science Competition. One student achieved 6 Distinction or High Distinction results overall and another achieved 7. Students achieving Distinction and High Distinction are in the top 1-10% of all students who sat nationally.

The MHJC mathex was once again a highlight of our academic calendar and was supported by staff, students and parents from all whanau. This year some Ormiston Senior College students competed against the parents.

In the 2014 NIWA Regional Science and Technology Fair, where 25 schools and over 100 participants from our region compete, Mission Heights Junior College again received top award across a range of science and technology categories in both Year 9 and Year 10. An MHJC student again won the IET Award for Innovation and the top prize in the technology section.

In 2014, 28 students were awarded Primary Crest Awards, 26 Bronze Crest Awards and 22 Silver Crest Awards as a result of scientific and technological investigations they had undertaken. To achieve Silver Crest Awards in Year 10 is very unusual with most recipients being in Year 12. MHJC was one of only 20 schools nationally to achieve this level of award.

We value the ability to speak a number of languages and in In the 2014 Language Perfect Competition MHJC finished 3rd school overall internationally. MHJC was 1st in New Zealand overall and 1st for Maori, Italian and Indonesian. We were 2nd in the world for Samoan.

30 of our students reached the highest possible individual award level gaining Elite awards. Only 606 of these awards were allocated internationally to the 300,000 competitors from 20 countries world wide.

MHJC Students also participated in ALC examinations in a range of foreign languages, gaining Distinction and High Distinction awards in both oral and written examinations.

This year we celebrated the achievements of our students in the Year 10 options Showcase and the Celebration of Maori and Pasifika Achievement. These were both wonderful opportunities to acknowledge the work and success of students across a range of subjects and extra curricular activities.

Sport

Once again participation and success increased in sporting activities in 2014 across a broad range of sporting competitions. Students have opportunities to participate in the sporting cornerstone through both extra curricular opportunities and very effectively through our personalised DEEP programme.

Cricket

Our Year 7 and 8 Boys cricket team placed 3rd in the South eastern Zone competition. Our Year 9 and 10 Cricket team once again were undefeated this season and were therefore winners of the Term 1 competition.

Netball

Our Year 7 and 8 girls netball team attended the AIMS games in Tauranga for the first time and at the end of the grading round were placed in the A grade. This was a big achievement and a challenge for our team who played with passion and commitment at this high level.

At year 9 and 10 our teams enjoyed success. Our Year 9 and 10 B Teams was placed third in their division. Our MHJC Yr 9 and 10 A team won their division and our Premier team excelled, being not only the top Year 10 team in the tournament but also the top team overall, winning in the final against Pakuranga College Senior A team..

Football

Our Year 7 and 8 boys football team also attended the Aims Games for the first time and enjoyed a number of hard fought games. Our Year 9 and 10 girls took third place in their competition and our Year 9 and 10 Boys team won their competition, beating a previously undefeated team in an exciting final.

Basketball

In 2014 we hosted a regional Year 7 and 8 competition and fielded a high number of developing players.
Our Year 7 and 8 girls were South Eastern Zone Champions in 2014 and our U15 Girls team reached the top 4 in the Auckland competition, which is an outstanding achievement. In a 3 on 3 competition a Mission Heights Team were B grade winners.

Swimming

We were again well represented at the SEZ swimming competition and this year two of our swimmers competing in the NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships won gold and bronze medals.

Athletics

In the Eastern zone Athletics MHJC students took 3rd place in long jump, 2nd in shotput and 1st in the 100m and 200m. Tyrell Green set new records in winning the running events.

MHJC students were named as regional reps in netball, basketball, rugby athletics and Tag football..

Culture

Performing Arts

At MHJC we have many talented students and we once again enjoyed our annual talent quest and the ever popular Santa Show. This year it was very exciting to add to these opportunities to enjoy performances with new initiatives, our Year 10 Options Showcase and the Celebration of Maori and Pasifika Achievement.

Dance Sport

In 2014 Year 7 and 8 students had an opportunity to compete in an MHJC Dance Sport competition as well as participating at the regional level.

Visual Arts

Work by our art students was showcased in a public exhibition at MOTAT. The exhibition attracted considerable attention both for the quality and variety of work displayed.

Cultural Celebrations

We once again enjoyed celebrating Diwali and Chinese new Year and also International Languages day. These opportunities for students and staff to proudly wear traditional dress are a wonderful aspect of our school.

Mission Heights Junior College were inaugural winners of the School Award at the Festival of Cultural Sharing.

Wearable Arts

Once again our students participated in a Wearable Art competition designing and creating entries in their DEEP classes. This year the event included both students and adults. We were proud of the two third placings won by our students. Given that our students compete against senior students taking Fabric Technology as a senior option subject, this success is outstanding.

Public Speaking

Our strength in public speaking continues to grow. In 2014, for the first time, we had an entry in the UN Assoc of NZ Northern Secondary Schools Speech competition. Our Year 10 student was the youngest entrant among mainly Year 12 and 13 speakers and did outstandingly well to be awarded 2nd place.

In the Eastern Zone Speech competitions, we were placed 2nd in Year 9 and 3rd in Year 10. Our entrant in the APPA Eastern Zone Year 7 and 8 competition was placed 2nd and our Year 7 student was placed 3rd in the impromptu speeches.

An MHJC student was also placed 2nd in the Year 7 and 8 regional Hindi speaking competition.

Debating

Our debating teams once again raised the bar in 2014. MHJC teams were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Southern zone competition and two of our teams progressed to the Auckland Octo finals in the Auckland Junior Open Debating competition. One of our teams went on to compete in the Auckland Finals. To reach the final two in Auckland for two consecutive years is a great achievement and the judge described the final as the best he had seen in 5 years.
Two other MHJC speakers were also recognised at a very high level. At the prize giving for the Auckland open Junior debating competition, they were named as the best individual speakers in the southern zone.

Calligraphy

This year for the first time there was an opportunity for students to participate in a Chinese Calligraphy competition. The winner of this was subsequently placed third in a national competition and his work was published as a result.

Origami

Another new event was held in 2014, an origami competition. The sophistication of the entries was amazing and we hope that this will become an annual event.

Service Leadership

The 2014 Executive Council chose the design and creation of a new trophy as their legacy project. This trophy is presented to a student who is awarded a Champions Award in all 4 cornerstones in a single year. At the end of year Prizegiving it was awarded for the first time.

The Council runs the discos which are held each term and were active in promoting other leadership opportunities in the school.

Our whanau councils take the lead role in organising whanau assemblies and, in some whanau in 2014 student curriculum committees actively conributed to ideas for learning contexts.

We value the service of our road patrollers, our librarians, ICT crew, and our sports and cultural councils. Other opportunities to lead and serve are available through Wai Care, the Enviro Council, Travelwise and Trees for Survival. The school received a Trees for survival Kowhai Award in 2014, making it one of only 12 schools to achieve this status.

5 Year 10 students once again represented Mission Heights Junior College at the Singapore Young Leaders Convention where they worked with other students from across the globe to address issues affecting youth.

The school continued to support a wide range of community organisations including SPCA, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Starship Hospital, and the Cancer Society. MHJC students took a leading role in planning and organising events for the Uxbridge Kids Festival.

A number of students again had the opportunity to attend the Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi.

Principal’s Message

Mr. Ian Morrison, Principal
Mr. Ian Morrison, Principal

Welcome to the Mission Heights Junior College website. I am privileged to have the opportunity to lead such an innovative, forward looking school, where children are challenged to be the best they can be in a supportive and engaging educational environment.

Our Vision

Our vision at Mission Heights Junior College is to develop confident, active, reflective and high-achieving learners and to provide innovative and evolving personalised learning contexts in response to the rapidly changing world in which our children will live.

Our children need to be prepared to meet the challenges of a global community with confidence and resilience, to be life long, independant learners and enterprising young people with highly developed problem solving, communication and thinking skills.

Students at Mission Heights Junior College will be guided and challenged to achieve high academic goals and to extend themselves in doing so. They will be well prepared to meet the challenge of gaining essential qualifications both at Mission Heights Junior College and in their later schooling.

However in today’s world this, in itself, is not enough. Our students will also be encouraged to be active participants in sporting, cultural and leadership and service activities, which will make them all round achievers who are valued in higher education, the work place and in society.

We want our students to be engaged and active participants in their learning and it will be our goal to provide authentic, personalised and relevant learning contexts.

Our Site

Our students benefit from the state of the art facilities and resources of a modern learning environment.. Our teaching staff is committed to providing an educational experience which is relevant to students and which extends and challenges them in a digital environment.

The school is divided into four buildings which enables dedicated staff to provide students with strong pastoral support. The flexible design of the site also allows for innovative and collaborative teaching and learning. Each Whanau, or “school within a school” encourages a sense of belonging and supports our students to become positive leaders and citizens who make a positive difference.

Our Place

We believe that our school is an integral part of our community and that the community is integral to the school. Our focus on authentic and relevant learning offers opportunities to develop positive partnerships with community organisations and businesses as well as our parents and friends of the school.

I am looking forward to meeting you and working with you as we develop a school to be proud of at Mission Heights Junior College.

Ian Morrison
Principal