MHJC is extremely proud to share Ashvin and Arvinth Sathy’s achievements at the 2019 Halberg Games, which were held from the 11th – 13th October, at Kings College, Otahuhu. The boys had a great time on the track with their wheelchair racing events and gained strong results in both Boccia and Table Tennis. Ashvin participated in a thrilling Boccia final, winning the Boccia trophy. Arvinth managed to defeat Ashvin to win the trophy for Table Tennis – this too was a thrilling final! The boys enjoyed the opportunity to meet Grant Elliot and worked on their ‘catching practice’ whilst chatting with him. Ashvin and Arvinth also met the ‘Sports and Recreation Minister’, Grant Robertson and Para Olympian medalists at the Opening Ceremony. MHJC staff member Matua Brent witnessed the boys in action and remarked, “Ashvin and Arvinth were like the ‘All Blacks’ of the Halberg Games!”
(Reproduced from Google’s blog. I thought the points made in this blog post by Sanjay Noronha are sound and worth repeating to our community.)
These days, access to a reliable Wi-Fi signal can feel as crucial as having basic electricity or plumbing. In fact, a recent study conducted by Kelton Research and commissioned by Google found that 28 percent of people don’t think they could last a single day without Wi-Fi. But in that same study, a whopping 81 percent of people said they have experienced issues with their Wi-Fi at home. So why is something so essential considered such a hassle?
Luckily, there are some simple strategies to maximize your home Wi-Fi network to avoid slow loading times or grumbling when you’re trying to get online. Here are a few tips for making the most out of your Wi-Fi.
Place your router as centrally as possible.
Wi-Fi signals get weaker the farther away you go from your router, so if you keep your router by the front door, your videos might load more slowly if you’re trying to watch them by the back door. So if you can, place your router as centrally as possible within your home, though this may not always be possible depending on where your internet provider brings in the connection. And if you don’t mind your router sitting on the counter top, keep it out in the open. If you can avoid hiding it by a bookcase or filing cabinet, you can really help boost your Wi-Fi signal.
Consider a mesh network.
A mesh network is a group of routers that wirelessly communicate with each other to create a single, connected Wi-Fi network over a large area. It allows you to have multiple sources of powerful Wi-Fi throughout your home, not just one from the main router. Having a mesh network solves the problem of having the router just relegated to a corner in the house. We created Google Wifi as a mesh system because having multiple points work together to create a seamless single network provides consistently strong coverage for all connected devices in every room of the house.
Make sure your router is up to date.
If your existing router is more than three or four years old, check to make sure it supports 5GHz Wi-Fi signals. Some older routers only support 2.4GHz signals, which can make your devices much slower. Think of it as having a car that isn’t fast enough to drive on the freeway. Upgrade your router to at least an 802.11ac system so you can also use 5GHz frequencies, which are like the autobahn of Wi-Fi. (There are more lanes, and higher speed limits.)
Always, always make your network password-protected.
Having an “open network” without a password might seem convenient, since there’s no need to remember a complicated password. But if you do that, anyone even driving by your home could join your Wi-Fi network and compromise your network, devices and data by accessing your drives or slowing down your network. Choose a strong password that’s tough for anyone to guess, but easy for you to remember.
Create a separate Wi-Fi network for guests.
If you have kids at home, or just get a lot of guests, chances are you’ve handed out your Wi-Fi password a lot. Setting up a guest network creates a second Wi-Fi network in your home so your guests can have a great experience while your own devices stay secure and private.
With the holidays coming up, the media is chock-full of advice on how you can restrict the screen time of your children. With all 3 major OS manufacturers touting methods on their operating systems (Microsoft -> Microsoft accounts, Google -> Digital Wellbeing and Apple -> Screentime), there is no shortage of avenues that the parent can take. This post isn’t about them.
There are some other methods in which parents can help ensure that their children are getting the benefits of technology. Here are a few that you could try during the holidays :-
Establish consistent “media free” times, particularly at meal times. (That means no hand-held games for older kids, or cell phones or iPads for grown-ups).
Make your own media. Give your child a low-cost digital camera and teach her how to plug it into your TV. This is a great way to review memorable events and can be a rich language experience for very young children, as they name family members from their last birthday party, for example.
Provide exciting non-tech options in your child’s life. Instead of trying to remove current media from your child’s life, continue to enrich her playtime with new, concrete, interesting alternatives, so your child will want to turn off the TV.
Having said that, media consumption on computers doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing approach. Computers and television can play a key role in helping children wind down and relax. For example, a half-hour session of Thomas the Tank Engine after dinner can help your 5 year old make the transition from dinner to bed time and this will be more beneficial than 3 hours of it on Saturday afternoons.
Have you ever considered hosting an international student from Europe, the Americas, Russia or Asia? We are looking for families to become homestay providers to our international students. We need families for one term, two terms, and full-year periods. Families are reimbursed $300 per week.
What kind of families are we looking for?
We welcome applications from anyone in the Flat Bush area who speaks English in the home, has a clean, tidy home and a spare furnished bedroom, and has a desire to share their culture with an international student. Families need to be available and most of all, warm and welcoming.
Why host an international student?
Learning about a new culture through hosting an international student can be a very enriching experience, helping to enable people to understand other languages, food and customs.
If you are interested, we will endeavour to provide all the information you require. The application pack below contains information pertaining to expectations and guidelines which we hope will allow you to make that decision.
With a family member or close family friend known to the student’s parents. This person is known as the Designated Caregiver (DCG)
Parent
Some parents accompany their children to New Zealand. If students are living with a parent, the parent has full responsibility for the pastoral care of the student outside school hours.
Teachers and students from our sister school in Nanjing (Xian Lin Intermediate School) visiting MHJC
Homestay
Many International Students choose to live in an accredited homestay arranged by the school. All our host families have been carefully selected by a highly trained and experienced team. We understand the importance of a relationship between the student and the host family and as such we aim to match students with a suitably compatible host family. Student needs and requests are always considered when making placements and this ensures that they are placed in an environment that works best for them.
Currently Mission Heights Junior College does not offer a homestay program.
Ian Morrison and Joan Clansey with our international students at the Bike Track Opening Ceremony
Our host families are wonderful and will give students the chance to experience the Kiwi way of life, as part of a caring family, and help them to develop their English language skills.
All homestay caregivers are police vetted in accordance with The Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students.
Designated Caregiver
Students can live with a Designated Caregiver (DCG) who is a person or family that the student’s parents have chosen to take care of their child while they are in New Zealand. The parents take full responsibility and accept the decisions made by their DCG regarding the day-to-day requirements of their child. Even though the parents have chosen the DCG, the school has a responsibility to check that the home is suitable for the student and if the caregiver will be verified as a DCG. All family members in the household over 18 years of age will be police vetted.
The DCG will need to sign the Designated Caregiver Agreement to acknowledge their understanding of the agreement and responsibility involved.
We have an International Student Team dedicated to the care and support of every international student, who chooses to make their home with us.
Management
Senior Leader
International Student Coordinator
Raeesa Dada
Joan Clansey
Raeesa is responsible for managing the Global Connection portfolio.
Joan is responsible for overseeing the International team. She approves applications and is the primary contact for parents, caregivers and agents.
Contact us at international@mhjc.school.nz . Our administration hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am – 3:30 pm (New Zealand Standard Time). We will endeavour to respond on the next working day should your enquiry be outside of these hours.
All the MHJC news – student achievements, learning initiatives, sporting accolades and upcoming events. Our Term 3 Newsletter is now available to read simply by clicking here
This year MHJC has challenged all ākonga to get involved with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Matua Brent has shared many wonderful resources and encouraged learners to develop pepeha + use te reo in and around the kura to fill our basket of knowledge. Students have also participated in the Education Perfect New Zealand ‘Te Reo Maori Language Competition’ this week. ‘Kia kaha te reo Māori’ MHJC – Let’s make the Māori language strong!’
As advised in the media, the measles outbreak appears to be rapidly spreading in Auckland. At this stage, we have NOT had any reported case of measles at the school.
1. If your child is showing symptoms of measles please keep them at home. 2. If your child has been diagnosed with measles please notify the school immediately and keep them at home. 3. We strongly advise you to immunise your child at the earliest possible opportunity – the vaccine is available free from your GP. 4. If there is a reported case at MHJC we may require proof of immunisation so please have your documentation available should this be the case.
Thanking you for your support.
据媒体报道，麻疹疫情似乎正在奥克兰迅速蔓延。 在这一阶段，我们还没有在学校报告任何麻疹病例。
如果你的孩子有麻疹的症状，请把他们留在家里。
如果您的孩子被诊断出麻疹，请立即通知学校并把他们留在家里。
我们强烈建议您尽早为您的孩子接种疫苗，疫苗可以从您的家庭医生那里免费获得。
如果在MHJC有报告病例，我们可能需要免疫接种的证明，所以如果是这种情况，请提供您的文件。
非常感谢您的支持。
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