In today’s newsletter we have the following:
● Senior Leadership
● Student Achievement
● Staff
● ANI Community
Senior Leadership Team
Principal News
Tēnā koutou katoa,
A whakataukī I hold close to my heart and often reflect on is:
Mauri tu, mauri ora – “An active soul is a healthy soul.”
This whakataukī beautifully captures the spirit of Term One at Auckland Normal Intermediate. Throughout the term, our taurira (students) have shown incredible energy, dedication, and passion—excelling in many different areas both within our local community and beyond.
Too often, young people are unfairly labelled as disengaged or disrespectful. What we’ve seen at ANI, however, is the exact opposite. Our tauira have continually stepped up, lived our āhua (values), and made us proud through their involvement, effort, and aroha for their peers and wider whānau.
One particularly special moment was last night’s Kapa Kahui Festival (Kapa Haka Festival) for our ACCOS Kāhui Ako, where ANI was one of ten schools to perform.
I may be biased, but our 91 tauira gave a performance that demonstrated incredible mana, discipline, and pride.
Their talent reflected months of hard work alongside our passionate and skilled kaiako (teachers). It was heartening to see so many whānau, former students, and staff in attendance.
An especially moving moment was when Te Maika Denton and Lily-Ann Parangi-Patterson, both ex-ANI students, completed a haka tautoko in response to our performance—an honour that left everyone in the room touched.
Our commitment to service has remained strong. From classes visiting local retirement villages, to our sustainability group planting trees in the community, and the launch of our William Pike Challenge group, our tauira are embodying the spirit of giving back, both individually and collectively. This is mahi we can all be proud of.
It has also been heartening to see our PTA reconnecting and aspiring for positive change. With a focus on improving school spaces and experiences, they’ve hosted a school social and are exploring further fundraising initiatives. If you’d like to get involved, please feel free to reach out to Deputy Principal Scott Boniface at school.
Finally, we wrapped up the term with end-of-term assemblies, a celebration of the many accomplishments of our students. We also announced our AIMS Games teams, and there was plenty of excitement. To those who were selected, congratulations, and to those who weren’t this time, know this: it is not the end. As Michael Jordan famously said, not making a team doesn’t define your potential. It’s a bend in the road, not the finish line. With a clear plan, persistence, and belief, anything is possible.
Ngā mihi nui for all the support this term. We look forward to the continued growth and success of our tauira in Term Two.
Jason Pocock
Principal ANI
Deputy Principal News
Kia ora e te whānau,
As we round out the week and head into a well-deserved holiday break, I want to take a moment to acknowledge how amazing our tamariki have been. It’s been a long and busy term, and they’ve come through it brilliantly. Their continued effort and positive behaviour is a real credit to each and every one of them.
A huge thank you also goes to our dedicated staff. Their hard work and ongoing support throughout the term has been outstanding, and they’ve certainly earned a good rest over the break.
During the holidays, we’re excited to finally see the installation of Autex throughout our learning spaces. This project has experienced some delays, so it will be fantastic to have it completed in time for the start of Term 2. We’re also upgrading the electrical switchboards around the school, which marks the final step in the significant work completed as part of our 10-Year Property Plan. Over the past 15 months, these upgrades have been essential to future-proofing our kura.
That’s it from me—have a wonderful break with whānau and friends, stay safe, and take the time to rest and recharge.
Ka kite,
Scott Boniface
Deputy Principal – Community
Kia ora e te whānau,
My update today is an opportunity to celebrate all the amazing things that have been happening in our teaching and learning realm over the past 11 weeks.
In Year 7, our students inquired into our theme of Who We Are, learning about how our beliefs and values shape our identity. Our core curriculum areas were woven through this theme-based learning. Year 7 students engaged with rich math problems and tasks focusing on measurement and number knowledge, and skills. In reading, they started novel studies where they focused on comprehension skills and in writing, they learnt about the writing process, paragraph structure, poetry and letter writing.
In Year 8, our students took a slightly different lens to our Who We Are theme, focusing on their responsibility in their learning. They have started their second theme a couple of weeks ago, inquiring into our theme How We Express Ourselves. They have engaged in maths learning around measurement, number knowledge and skills. In literacy, our year 8s have been learning about persuasive features in the lead-up to our speeches next term.
A few things to look forward to in term 2:
- Year 8 speech competition in week 4
- Year 7 speech competition in Week 8
- Our year 8 Market Day
- Māramatanga – Our Learning Journey reports coming out at the end of term 2.
Teacher Only Day – Term 2
Also, just a reminder that school will be closed on Friday 16th May due to a teacher only day. Our teaching staff will be onsite undertaking some Ministry of Education professional development around the new maths curriculum.
Have a wonderful holiday break.
Ashley Triana
Deputy Principal – Curriculum
Student Achievement
Principal Awards
Yume – U15 National Lead Climbing Champion
In late March, Yume F attended the U15 National Lead Climbing competition in Tūrangi. We are so proud of Yumi as she is now the NZ U15 National Lead Climbing Champion!Well done Yume, you’re a star 
Kapa Kāhui – What an AMAZING evening.
Our ANI Kapa Haka stepped up and performed proudly at the Kapa Kāhui last night.
They were buzzing, and seeing some of their teachers arrive to support them really gave them a positive lift. Thank you so much to those teachers who could make it.
We received a lot of positive feedback from other schools and I am so proud of the 91 ANI students who took that stage.
Then just as we were leaving the stage, we hear a Haka Tautoko – haka response.
Te Maika & Lily (Kapa Haka leaders from last year) stood together in the audience and performed a Haka to show their support for ANI. A very special moment.
Brooke Tuialii
Teacher in Charge of Kapa haka
Visual Arts
Well, what a wonderful term we have had! It has been so great to get to know my Term 1 cohort of year 7s and to reconnect with the year 8s.
The year 7s have had a fun term learning new skills, discussing who we are, what makes us an individual and what our passions are.
While the year 8s have been working on learning more about our school values and creating their very own clay Creature of Value.
What a privilege it is for us to have our very own kiln! I am incredibly excited to get all our students working with clay this year and can’t wait to see what else is produced.
Nga mihi,
Emma Purchase
Visual Arts Teacher
Les Blues Year 8 boys futsal
In early April, our ANI Futsal team, Les Blues Year 8 boys, came second in the A1 final. Well done team!
Staff
Inter House Handball tournament
One of our amazing teachers, Selina Striebich, has created this wonderful initiative that started last year and has grown hugely in popularity. She explains below:
“Over the last three weeks, we have had an exciting lunchtime sports tournament at ANI!
Two days a week we played handball for our houses and had a lot of fun while showing some awesome sportsmanship.
Handball is a fast-paced sport that originated in Germany, so we started it following German week.
The sports leaders supported Mr Rice, me and Ms Okamura and made sure everyone had a great time!
Congratulations to the winning houses Whenua (Year 7) and Wai (Year 8).”
Selina Striebich
Teacher in Charge of Handball
Reception Reminders
Dear Parents,
We kindly request your assistance in reminding your children that our office is a professional environment and must be treated with the utmost respect at all times. It is essential that all students maintain their best behavior while in this space.
Students should not enter the reception area during school hours unless necessary and must not use it as a place to socialise or skip class. Additionally, we ask that parents report to reception when signing out students or arranging pick-ups during school hours.
Please plan pickups outside of break times or coordinate with the school in advance to avoid any delays. Classrooms and device cabinets are often locked during breaks, so this helps us ensure your child can retrieve their belongings promptly. When you arrive at reception, provide your child’s name and room number so we can arrange for them to be brought to you. Additionally, please remember to sign your child out of school, as it is crucial for health and safety to know which students have left during the day.
We also want to please remind you that if a student is late to school, they must sign in at reception.
We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the respect and appropriateness of this space.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Cait and Gabi
Free Period Products:
As part of a government-funded initiative, we’re offering free pads and tampons for our young ākonga | students in the reception bathroom!
We understand it can feel a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s a student’s first time getting their period, and we want to make sure they feel as comfortable as possible.
Please let your student know they can access these products at any time, and they’re welcome to take some home if needed!
If you have any questions, please speak to Gabi or Cait in reception!
Cait and Gabi
ANI Community
ANI PTA Disco!!!
The new ANI PTA had their first event and what a huge success it was.
The disco was held at Greyfriars Church and we had a wonderful turnout and a great night was had by all.
Nga mihi
Scott Boniface
Deputy Principal in Charge of Community
Dental Van Visit 2025
The dental van is coming on the 16th of June until the 27th of June to see the children under their care. Parents will be called to gain consent.
Upcoming Events for Week 1, Term 2, 2025
Have a wonderful holiday
Notices from our community partners
World Dance Crew Championship
We have an exciting event coming to Manukau for the first time ever. Parris Goebel has brought to NZ a brand new major event called The World Dance Crew Championship. It’s only fitting that the first time it runs is on the home turf of the Palace Dance Studio.
We want to invite you Tamariki down to watch the best dance crews from around the world, including our local legends The Royal Family & ID CO, take on top teams from the US, the Philippines, and beyond.
The event is at Due Drop Events Centre from April 13th – 19th, during the school holidays. With tickets priced at just $15–$20, plus, a further 10% off we hope to make it an affordable family experience. For 10% off, please use the below directions:
Step one: Go to Eventfinda
Step two: Enter the presale code: SCHOOL10
This will be running from now until the 25th of March.
We appreciate your support and hope to see you there.
