This week sees the passing of another icon. The death of Muhammad Ali came as a shock to many but relief for a family who had witnessed his suffering from poor health since the end of his boxing career. Social commentators and historians are already assessing the impact of this great man both as a boxer and instrument of social change. His life influenced how we view religion, race and conflict and this must be a measure of greatness.
One of Ali’s famous phrases was “I AM THE GREATEST” and I wondered how relevant his statement is to our vision. Not everyone can be the greatest however we can all aspire to be the greatest we can be. I am sure Muhammad Ali will join me in urging everyone in our community to aspire to greatness in whatever field we choose.
Last week Joanne Ting competed in the ‘Junior Championship Division One Badminton Tournament’ at Li-Ning, placing second in the doubles. Having won 3 of 4 games, Joanne and her partner moved on to the semifinals. Another win secured a place in the finals. A very close and competitive game ensued, with Joanne ultimately missing out on the division one title. Keep up the great work, Joanne!
Yesterday was another action-packed day for international participants at the Student Leaders Conference, Singapore. The morning started with a short trip on the MRT to the Botanical Gardens, followed by a return bus trip back to the Hwa Chong Institution for a tour of the amazing facilities, by way of an 7 station ‘challenge’ rotation. MHJC students then headed back to the MRT to travel for a late lunch at the Gardens by the Bay, followed by a visit to the spectacular ‘Cloud Forest’ dome.
Today is the first of a three day ‘issues-based’ project development focus, with MHJC students being split to work in focus groups with peers from a range of schools, internationally. It is truly impressive to see Hwa Chong students leading all aspects of the conference to facilitate such high quality ‘globally connected learning!’
Josh, Alina, Tyla, Katelyn, Hruthin and John are all in good spirits, however are ‘feeling the heat’ – literally!
On Friday 27th May, Year 7 students from Mission Heights Junior College attended the Festival of Cultural Sharing at the Fo Guang Shan Temple. It was a lovely opportunity to collaborate with Year 5 and 6 students from Mission Heights Primary. The festival was a great success and students had a wonderful time. It was lovely to see our Year 7’s stepping up and being caring leaders, as well as Cultural Council students taking charge. The Festival of Cultural Sharing is an event our schools can continue to build upon and enrich each year.
Mission Heights Junior College is presenting the 2016 School Production... “POPSTARS: A 90’S Musical” Students and staff, led by Ms Abbi Sheilds, have been working extremely hard and rehearsals are well underway!
The production has all of your favourite 90’s hits from all of your favourite artists, including: Brittany Spears, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Spice Girls, NKTOB, Christina Aguilera, Boys to Men, MC Hammer, Mariah Carey and many more. We guarantee that you’ll know every song! With exciting dance routines and a hilarious plot, we hope that you will extend your support for students and staff by attending the production.
Plot:
The story is set in a school in the 1990’s, where Mark is head over heels in love with his girlfriend, Queen Bee, Shannon Van de Witt. When Shannon learns that pop-band impresario Simon Austin is the surprise judge at the State Talent Show she dumps him for her chance at showbiz stardom. Mark rapidly goes from High School hero to High School zero. His garage band buddies rally around him and soon a plan for revenge is hatched to change their grunge band to a boy-band and snatch the Talent Show title from Shannon’s Candy Girls. There’s just one small problem… the boys can’t dance. Mark enlists the help of the ultra talented, new girl, Ella to help with their boy band make over and sparks soon fly. Can Mark get the girl, get the Grand Prize and get even with the scheming Shannon closing in? It’s anyone’s guess as the countdown to the Grand Finale begins. It’s sure to be one to remember.
Please keep an eye out for the school newsletter, website and Facebook for further information on dates, ticket prices and our amazing cast!
Pictured below: MHJC students getting their amazing set ready.
Jarrod Millar recently captained his New Zealand representative golf team as they took on the Australians in their own backyard – Sydney. With the well wishes of Ryan Fox and Jerome Kaino from the All Blacks the team went into the main event on Saturday in trying weather conditions of wind and rain. Jarrod played in the first group of the day and secured an emphatic win for the New Zealand team, before going back out onto the course to marshal the rest of his team.
Jarrod’s leadership and encouragement eventually saw his New Zealand team come out on top, winning the Trans-Tasman Cup. Each one of the players did New Zealand extremely proud in bringing home the trophy. Our congratulations to Jarrod for exemplifying GREATNESS and achieving success on the international stage!
This week we introduce the Te Reo Maori translation of our vision statement “Growing Greatness”.
“Kia mana ake” means to continue to seek ways to improve the internal power we all possess.
As a community we seek ways of promoting cultural diversity and in particular acknowledging our obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi. The newly created Maori and Pasifika committee led by Rebecca McGrath is making significant progress by strengthening ties with families and building on the success of the celebration evening held in term 4 for the last two years.
It was a pleasure to see our Year 9 and 10 girls’ netball team aspiring to perform at the highest level in the Saturday morning competition. After successful grading games they were placed in the second section of their league which means they are in the top 6-12 schools in Auckland. On Saturday they lost narrowly to Auckland Girls’ Grammar in a very exciting game.
They showed admirable resilience by never giving up and I am proud of how they lived our vision – Kia mana ake!
On Wednesday the 25th May a group of Year 9 and 10 students from the four Whanau Councils and the Executive Council attended the National Young Leaders Day Conference at the Vodafone Events Centre.
Students had the opportunity to hear amazing stories from very different people – the ways they have lived their lives and what it meant to make tough decisions. These stories showed our students that they can all be leaders, but that leadership can look different in each situation. Our students left the conference feeling very inspired and with the knowledge that the decisions they make today could influence their entire future for the better.
The Ministry of Health’s Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Shirley Crawshaw says: The current measles outbreak is a good reminder for people to check they are fully vaccinated. Measles is highly infectious and can have serious consequences. Around 30 percent of people with measles will develop complications. About 1 in 10 people will require hospital treatment. Immunisation is the single most effective measure you can take to protect you and your family from this highly infectious and serious disease. You need to have had two doses of MMR vaccine to be fully protected.
You can find out if you or family members are up to date with your immunisations by checking your child’s Well Child Tamariki Ora or Plunket books, or asking at your General Practice. New Zealanders born from 1 January 1969 are eligible for free MMR vaccinations. Those born before the measles vaccine became available in 1969 are considered at lower risk because they were probably exposed to measles as a child. Further information is available through 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863) or Healthline (0800 611 116) on the Ministry of Health website Information about catching up on immunisations is also available on the Ministry of Health website.
Please monitor any possible symptoms of measles and keep your child at home and take him or her to the doctor if you believe that he or she may have contracted this highly contagious illness. The school should also be advised immediately of your concerns and the doctor’s diagnosis.
Jarrod Millar had a fantastic round of golf yesterday at Akarana and ended up winning the 2016 Intercollegiate Stroke Play Golf Tournament, receiving the trophy for Best Nett in the boys division while representing Mission Heights Junior College at the event. Congratulations Jarrod – we are proud of this fantastic achievement!
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