In today’s newsletter we have the following:
Senior Leadership Team
Principal News
Dear parents and whānau
Kia mate ururoa, kei mate wheke
What an amazing second half of the term. I have just returned from the Zespri AIMS games. The Zespri AIMS Games is one of the largest sporting events in New Zealand, catering to intermediate-aged school children (11-13 years old).
Officially known as the Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools Games, the event started in 2004 and has grown significantly in size and popularity. Held annually in Tauranga, the games bring together thousands of young athletes from across the country (13,500+ bigger than the Olympics), offering them a platform to compete in a wide range of sports.
The primary goal of the Zespri AIMS Games is to promote physical fitness, sportsmanship, and teamwork among young participants, while also providing a pathway for future sporting careers. I was acutely aware of the amazing opportunity our students get when they attend these games and for me the social aspect is by far and away the most important.
The lessons learnt around success, failure, connection and collective growth are absolutely life-changing. The whakatauki that I started for me, identifies one of these learning points. Loosely translated it encourages us to not give up, to fight even when we think it is in vain (no matter how hard it is). For me, this is when the most learning takes place, when you surprise yourself with what capabilities you actually do have. There were lots of positives and if you read the review in this newsletter like me, I am sure you will be suitably impressed.
However, just because some of our students did not attend AIMS did not mean that they had a boring or non-challenging week. In fact far from it. The electives that our amazing staff offered up, allowed our students to experience some new challenges and shared some passions that our staff have. Whether it was Irish sport, wearable arts, dance, clay art, detective work or the myriad of others students got the ability to engage and try out new things which definitely added many smiles to faces and great conversations about, where could I keep trying this and or what else could I do.
Ake ake ake – A forever language is the theme for Te wiki o te reo Māori (Māori language week). It has been great this week sharing whakaaro (experiences) in various formats, assemblies, class, conversations. The week holds significant cultural, social, and historical value for Aotearoa (New Zealand) and beyond. Celebrating this week is an important recognition of Māori, New Zealand’s indigenous language. By promoting te reo Māori, we honour the rich cultural heritage of the Māori people, ensuring their traditions, stories, and perspectives are preserved for future generations. My wero (challenge) to you would be to ask your child(ren) to share some of the learning be it reo (language) or tikanga (customs/traditions) so that you too can learn over this week.
As we enter the last week of school for term 3, I also encourage you (caregivers/whānau) to continue to expect good things from your students. We will continue to drive them right up to the break and we encourage you to expect them to continue to manage the things they control, completing homework, wearing the uniform, being on time, and being consistent with high levels of effort. Talking with your children around what your expectations for them are would support this.
Jason Pocock
Tumuaki (Principal)
Deputy Principal News
Learning and Assessment update
As we approach the end of term 3, we also come to the end of our Where We Are in Place and Time (WWAIPAT) unit, it’s incredible to reflect on the rich learning that has taken place. Our students have been exploring New Zealand’s history with depth and curiosity, delving into the movement of people and how our past shapes Aotearoa’s present and future. A particular focus has been put on helping to develop research and essay writing skills and It’s been so great to see this in action around the school.
Term 4 will bring us into our new IB theme, How We Express Ourselves, which this year will have a strong focus on service and taking action. Service is a key component within the IB framework, and we are excited to see how students will apply their learning in meaningful ways to make a positive impact on our community. For our year 8 students, this learning will be stepped up a notch as they begin their journey towards exhibition. More information about this to come!
Assessment is already underway with classroom teachers having been carrying out PROBE reading assessments with students throughout this term. Our second round of e-asTTle testing for reading and maths will take place in Term 4, Week 2. This testing provides valuable insights into student progress and is just one of the many pieces of evidence teachers use to form their overall judgements on each student’s achievement. We look forward to seeing how much growth our students have made.
Have a great weekend whānau
Kia haumaru te noho
Ashley Triana
Deputy Principal
Important reminders for safety around school
We love seeing students cycling or scooting to school! We’re very fortunate to have ample bicycle and scooter racks by the Disraeli car park. Please make sure your young person is wearing a helmet when they are making their way to school. We also ask that when they get to school, students get off their scooter or bike and walk it to the racks to avoid any accidents.
When dropping students off or picking students up at any time we ask that you drop them on Poronui Street or Disraeli Street to walk into school. Our car parks are busy places and we want to ensure all students arrive and leave safely.
If your child brings anything precious into school, (such as headphones, wallets, bus cards) we encourage them to hand it in to their teacher to keep it safe during the day. Phones must be handed in at the beginning of the day.
All these messages have been recently reiterated in classrooms and in assemblies.
Alice O’Sullivan
Room 16 Teacher/kaiako
Year 8 Dean
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 appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the respect and appropriateness of this space.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Front of House Team
High School pre-enrolment testing
Auckland Grammar School pre-enrolment testing:
DATE: 28 November (Thursday)
ARRIVAL TIME: 9:00am (meet at gate 4, where a staff member will escort the students to the old gym)
TESTING STARTS: 9:30am
TESTING CONCLUDES: 10:45 (students to be collected at gate 3 at 10:50am).
Students do not need to be in their school uniform (current of AGS). Please ensure all students bring a pen and a pencil into the testing.
Epsom Girls Grammar School pre-enrolment testing:
DATES: Thursday 31 October and Friday 1 November – Week 3 – times TBC.
MAGS Academic Testing:
All Year 9 2025 students will be involved in MAGS academic testing at MAGS as follows:
Students should assemble outside the Main Hall before 8.30am
Sports Academy Trials: 12.30pm-2.30pm approx
Separate Girls/Boys Sports Academy trials, for those students who wish to be considered, will be held as per the table above. Following the academic testing, students interested in academy trials will report to the Grandstand and have a brief lunch break before participating in their chosen Sports Academy. Please bring lunch and a drink, sunhat/sunblock and appropriate sports attire.
IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE: Hockey and Football Trials
Most Academy trials will take place on Thursday 31 October for girls and Friday 1 November for boys. The exception to this is Hockey, as due to safety, the courts will only be used for one sport at a time so the trials for both girls and boys Hockey trials:
- Hockey trials will be on Friday 1 November at 12.30pm (for both girls and boys)
Football Trials will also be held at an earlier date due to staff being on leave later in the term.
- Football trials for Boys Wednesday 23 October at 3.30pm on site at MAGS
- Football trials for Girls Thursday 24 October at 3.30pm on site at MAGS
Please ensure the student reports to the Grandstand at that time in appropriate sports attire.
Student Achievement
Outstanding Success!!!
Eli’s Table Tennis Achievements:
- Gold Medalist in ITTF – Oceania Table Tennis Hopes Challenge (Individual) 2024
- Silver Medalist in ITTF – Oceania Table Tennis Youth (U19 Team) Championships 2024
Following completion of the event, Eli Ho has been selected to represent Oceania at the 2024 ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge, 1-7 November in Paraguay.
Your ANI whanau is incredibly proud of you!
Principal Awards
NIWA Science Fair
On Friday 30th September, six of our students—Zoe Z (Room 28), Leo S (Room 28), Mathew G (Room 7), William F (Room 4), Lucas C (Room 7), and Seth C (Room 5) represented ANI at the Niwa Auckland Science Fair, competing alongside over 20 schools from across Auckland. The overall standard was incredibly high, with our students facing up to 8 judges at a time—a challenge they all handled with confidence.
We are thrilled to announce that Leo S (Room 28) took 2nd place in the Year 7/8 Physical World category with his project Debunking the Internet on Aerofoil Lift, and Zoe Z (Room 28) received a Highly Commended in the Year 7/8 Living World category for her project Green Transmitter. Zoe also won a special prize – an IMAgEN8 photography course.
Congratulations to all our participants for their fantastic effort!
Nicole Rowland
Science Teacher
Sustainability
Pest Monitoring at Windmill Park
We’re thrilled to announce a fantastic new addition to the ANI family—20,000 worms! That’s right, we’ve started our very own worm farm. Once our wriggly friends settle into their new home, they’ll be helping us reduce food waste by consuming up to 2kg a day!
In other news, our student beekeepers recently inspected our hives, and we’re happy to report that we now have two thriving hives. We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new queen bee, whose pupae was discovered but she hasn’t hatched yet—exciting times ahead!
Our garden is also flourishing. We’ve been busy laying mulch, and the vegetables are looking super healthy. It’s great to see our sustainability efforts coming to life!
Nicola Redshaw
Sustainability Teacher
AIMS Games
We had an absolutely fantastic week. A week full of learning. A week full of opportunity. Tāwhirimātea blessed us with beautiful sun all week. There was much success across the board including new records for some teams, there were no major injuries, and the hostel staff appear to be getting used to the September madness.
We will have a better, more creative, more engaging write up from Sohum and Faiza. However, as we go into week 9, I wanted to say thank you to everyone in our kura for the work you undertook last week.
Those who kept the cogs turning at school, from what I have heard already, it was a fantastic week. HARD. But a great learning opportunity for kids. Hold on to the little intricacies you noticed for change in 2025 as we will aim to improve this! Those who were in new spaces or doing new things, is never easy, but I appreciate you doing this!
Our AIMS kaiako were amazing down in Tauranga. Giving up their week to provide opportunity and experience for the kids is truly commendable and I couldn’t thank them enough! They may still be recovering from a lack of sleep, or sore ears from the van trips, or generally just dopaminergic highs and lows from last week. However, I know they are excited to be back.
Hip Hop
Over the weekend of 7 September Maddie, Jason and I had the privilege of taking the AIMS Hip Hop team to the AIMS Games in Tauranga.
The girls worked extremely hard and really put their all into learning the dance this term. They had very tough competition and managed to come 5th place out of 30 teams!!!
This is the best ANI has ever done at AIMS Hip Hop.
You can watch them on this link and forward to 1:15:20.
GooOooOoOoo HipHop
Renee Dale
Sports
Interzones Futsal!
Interzones Futsal had a wobbly start today with a late bus and the panic of missing games. A huge thanks to the organiser, Craig, for being as cool as a cucumber and reordering our games so we could all play.
We all faced very strong opponents (some of them who we knew from AIMS) and always put up a strong fight.
Despite tired bodies from last week, we saw some fantastic one-twos, unreal goals and outstanding goalkeeping from Jaithra for Year 8 Boys.
The results are as follows:
Year 7 Girls – 2nd
Year 7 Boys – 4th
Year 8 Girls – 5th
Year 8 Boys – 6th
Gooooooo ANI
Thanks to everyone who makes these opportunities possible
Denisse Bello and Farrah Dillon
Teachers in Charge of Futsal
Auckland Netball Season
I am delighted to announce the winners and runners-up from ANI are:
Y7 A Grade Section 1 Runner up: ANI Kakariki
Y7 B Grade Section 1 Runner up: ANI Pukeko
Y7 C Grade Section 1 Runner up: ANI Whero
Y8 A Grade Section 2 Winner: ANI Kakapo
Y8 D Grade Section 1 Winner: ANI Takahe
Congratulations to these teams who will be receiving their awards on Saturday 21st September.
ANI will be having their own separate prize-giving for all teams on Wednesday 23 October from 6-7pm.
Kayleigh Hughes
Teacher in Charge of Netball
Netball Coaching Clinic
We are running 2 Clinics one at Forrest Hill Primary (Northshore) and one at Marcellin College (Central).
Location | Registration Link |
Forrest Hill Primary – Wednesday 2nd October https://forresthill.school.nz/
Year 3 – 5 – 9.30am – 12.30pm Year 6 – 8 – 1pm – 4pm
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Marcellin College – 16th July 2024 – 10am – 12.30pm – Netball Skills / Strength and Conditioning https://www.marcellin.school.nz/
Year 3 – 5 – 9.30am – 12.30pm Year 6 – 8 – 1pm – 4pm |
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We will be providing lots of entertainment and games throughout the sessions. Join the Central Starz Premier Youth Netball Team to sharpen your skills, improve accuracy, and master techniques.
Your participation supports our Premier Netball team’s fundraising for the Pacific Netball Tour as well as establishing / funding more clinics over 2024 and 2025 for our youth.
Cost: Only $35 for the session
If you have any questions, please email Kat Alo on centralstarznetballacademy@outlook.com
follow us on facebook; https://www.facebook.com/ActivateHopeAcademy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/activatehopesportsacademy/
If you have any questions please feel free to call any of the Starz Committee;
Kat – 021528966
Ang – 0212672509
Sonja – 0211891632
Marie – 0210424177
Staff
A message from our Admin Staff:
Free Period Products for Students
Hello everyone!
The Government has committed to funding the Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata initiative so ākonga can continue to access the ikura (period) products they need.
As you wind down ahead of the school holidays, here’s a reminder to stock up so students have enough products to take home to manage their full cycle.
Gabi and I have ordered and received plenty of pads and tampons that we will keep on hand for students who need any! Students can find them in the bathroom here in reception and are free to come by any time to grab them.
We want periods and period talk to be normalised, and we want to make sure our ākonga receive as much support as possible!
Cait and Gabi
Admin Staff
ANI Community
ANI PTA
Tickets are selling fast so book today!
Ngā mihi nui,
Upcoming Events for Week 2, Term 3, 2024
Notices from our community partners
