In today’s ANI Guild we have the following:
● ANI’s Greatest Show!
● Ready, Set, TEST!
● Welcoming New Kaiako to ANI
● Celebrating Cook Islands
● Manaaki Monitors are on!
● Tim Sonderer Memorial (Water Polo)
● CZ Boys Netball
● Happy Sri Lankan Language Week!
● Thwack, Wizz, Woosh, Pickleballs Flying Through the Air!
● Raffle Sponsors
● HappANIngs
● Community Notices
ANI’s Greatest Show!
On the evening of the 12th & 13th of August, Auckland Normal Intermediate had an amazing production performance!
The production was about the ANI Superbowl and the school values. The Superbowl is an annual ANI tradition that happens every year in Term 1, where classes compete to get the cup. ANI students have worked extremely hard to get the show running in Week 4, the production was on for 2 days only: Wednesday, August 12, and Thursday, 13th August. On Wednesday morning, the students performed the production to the primary schools, who erupted into cheers once it was all over.
Maungawhau and Kohia Terrace came to watch the performance. They very clearly enjoyed it as they were laughing and smiling the whole time. The nighttime performance doors opened at 6 o’clock, and the actual play started at 6.30pm, finishing at 7:45pm.
Well done to all the cast, crew, and whānau who made the event a magical one and a night to remember. It was worth all the hard work, tears and last-minute stresses!
Written by: Samantha L, Caleb E
Edited by: Declan S, Nina F, & Reese T
Illustrated by: Erin F
Ready, Set, TEST!
Every year, ANI gives students the opportunity to participate in ICAS exams.
There are 7 subjects: Math, Science, Digital Technology, English, Writing, Reading and a Spelling Bee. In Week 3 , on Monday and Tuesday, they started the week with tests on Digital Technology and Writing. In Week 4, the students did English. The following week (Week 5), the students will be doing science. Finally, in Week 6, the students will be doing the hardest and toughest subject, Maths.
ICAS is a wonderful opportunity that lets the students experience what an exam will look like in high school. It will be hard but interesting to experience what a real test looks like. ICAS stands for International Competitions and Assessments for Schools. It is designed to challenge students and celebrate their achievements. The ICAS programme started in 1981 and grew rapidly to become Australia’s most popular school competition.
Written by: Reese T, Nina F, Declan S
Edited by: Declan S, Yeheni
Illustration by: Angeline
Welcoming New Kaiako to ANI
With Term 3 only just beginning, we have 2 new SPEC teachers and a new classroom teacher! Our new Japanese and performing arts teachers are Mr Storey and Mr Helu, as well as Ms Winspear in Room 20.
Sadly, our journey with Ms Okamura ended mid-term 2 when she left to pursue the opportunity of teaching Japanese at DIO (Diocesan School for Girls). Although she has left us heartbroken, she’s seeking better connections and hopes that we come to DIO to learn more Japanese so we won’t forget in the future and stay educated.
Now, in her place, we have a new teacher, Mr Storey, who was in Spain, Madrid, at the time Mr T had been teaching us. He went to teach English and study Spanish for 10 months in Spain, then came back to New Zealand to teach us Japanese.
Recently, Mr Helu joined our school in place of Ms Rowland due to her leaving ANI to go back to university. She’s either studying for a Bachelor of Counselling (BCouns), Bachelor of Health Science in Counselling, Master of Counselling (MCouns) or Master of Education (MeD) in Counselling.
Since Ms Rowland has left us to continue her journey, we now have Mr Helu in the performing arts room! He has a strong enthusiasm for teaching drama and educating in performances. He’s quite well known from his previous school, Epsom Normal Primary School. His bright energy never fails to prepare us for a fun block in performing arts!
In addition to our classroom teachers, we welcome Ms Winspear (Colby Winspear), who has now taken over Rm 20! She is really passionate about teaching and making sure students grow to be successful learners. She is originally from Canada, and we hope to share experiences at ANI!
With them gone, we’ll all miss them, but all at the same time we are all extremely grateful for our new teachers, Mr Storey, Mr Helu and Ms Winspear. We’re all eager to be taught by them and invite them to our school adventures!
Written by: Chloe, Scarlett
Edited by: Jackie, Agness
Celebrating Cook Islands
Did you know that the Cook Islands aren’t just 1 piece of big land? It’s actually a combination of 15 islands and atolls!
Last week was New Zealand’s Cook Islands Week, and our school decided to celebrate this by holding an assembly to appreciate Cook Islands culture. In class, we have studied the Cook Islands’ language, myths, legends and culture.
In class, we were learning about how the ocean that surrounds Rarotonga was overfished, and that the culture of the original Cook Islanders was disappearing. Traditional chiefs were replaced with a new government, and traditional customs were taken away. And as the fish continued to go missing, the people of Rarotonga realised that if they wanted to attract more tourists, then they needed to begin taking care of the environment around them; the traditional chiefs began taking initiative. They worked with the government to set Ra’ui, a set of strict rules. Back then, if someone broke the Ra’ui, the punishment was severe, but when the new Ra’ui was set, there was no specific punishment that was put out. The chiefs and government believed that the people knew how strictly a Ra’ui must be followed.
When we were discussing in class, many of us didn’t think that this would work; one student said, ‘I don’t think this rule would work because we’re human, and humans are human.’ Though some of us also believed that this would work, for the people of Rarotonga were raised and this was set from a tradition that they believed in.
As for languages, we learnt some words in the Cook Islands alphabet. We noticed they were quite similar to the Te Pu Taka Maori alphabet as well.
We also learnt about chiefs and legends that belonged to them, such as Kupe and the many legends about him. In class we learnt about Kupe and the Wheke and how Kupe’s whanau was starving, so Kupe set out aboard a waka and confronted Te Wheke’s owner. After a gruelling battle, Kupe reunited with his whanau and told them stories for generations to come.
In all, Cook Islands Language Week was a really fun experience, and it was cool to learn about the language and culture of the island.
Written by: Lucy, Sophie
Edited by: Sophie
Illustrations by: Charlee Vaudrey
Manaaki Monitors are on!
This term we finally started the amazing team of Manaaki Monitors. Manaaki Monitors are a volunteer group of 14 students, led by Nicole MK.
The Manaaki Leader was given a task related to this. They help by working together to keep our school environment clean. Each person takes on a garbage bag, a trash gripper and goes outside to pick up litter, keeping our learning grounds safe and rubbish-free.
Below is a summarised interview with ANI’S very own student leader who brought it back to our community!
“How does taking on a prominent leadership role in the school feel?”
“It feels amazing! They are such a hard-working group of students, and I’m really proud of the work we’ve achieved.”
“Have you faced any difficult challenges that you’ve had to overcome, and how did they turn out?”
“It was incredibly difficult for me to select the Manaaki monitors, as 50 people had signed up and unfortunately the school only needed 15 or 14!”
“What inspired you to reboot the Manaaki monitors?”
“Well, last year it ended pretty fast, and I had hoped to start up my own version this year with help from Mr Boniface and Ms Hughes.”
Written by: Caleb E, Nicole M, Grace W
Edited by: Caleb E, Nicole M, Grace W
Manaaki Leader: Nicole MacKenzie
Tim Sonderer Memorial (Water Polo)
Tim Sonderer Memorial is a water polo tournament mainly for year 7 & 8s and is held at Diocesan School for Girls, St Cuthbert’s, and Lady of the Sacred Heart. The tournament is to remember a talented water polo player named Tim Sonderer, who was tragically killed in a Quad bike accident.
The tournament also acts as a major competitive development event. Water polo players compete in Tim Sonderer to improve for future tournaments such as Jelly Belly and Future Stars.
ANI competed with 2 teams, which are ANI’s A grade and B grade, the ANI Sharks and the ANI Barracudas. ANI played one hell of a game, with the ANI Sharks placing 15th out of 16th and the ANI Barracudas coming 4th out of 16 places. Although we couldn’t achieve the winning places of 1st, 2nd or 3rd, we fought hard and strongly represented ANI with great sportsmanship, our thriving energy and by showing ANI’s school values. The players were exhausted after four long days of water polo. But they continued to show positive energy and the school’s values. We are excited for the next North Island tournament.
Here are the names of the participants:
Archie M, Archie S, Avi P, Euan P, Farhaan A, Hudson F, Mason H, Mya P, Theo D, Rebecca S
Photos by: Mason H
By Mya P and Mason H
Edited by Sophie MG and Mason H
CZ Boys Netball
In Term 3, Week 2 Tuesday, the 29th of July and Thursday 31st the Year 7 & 8 Central Zones Boys then Girls Netball Team competed at Windmill Park in numerous games.
The team, along with their umpires, walked down to the courts on a Tuesday morning, game-ready. Throughout the course of the day, they competed in several games, earning their spot higher up the podium.
Four netball referees from ANI, known as umpires, also attended CZ Netball. They were there to referee the matches for ANI and other schools. 2 teams from different years competed from different schools all over Auckland, such as ANI, RI, St Paul’s, Kohia Terrance & Kowhai.
All the boys had an amazing time, and the Year 8 team won their games by TONS of points! Both teams made it into the semifinals, with the Year 7s placing 8th and the Year 8s coming 1st!!!
Soon, the Year 8 boys will go on to compete in an interzone event in netball. We wish you all the best!!
Written by: Kavisha K
Edited by: Mason H, Sophie M
Happy Sri Lankan language week! සුභ ශ්රී ලාංකික භාෂා සතියක් වේවා! (subha śrī lāṁkika bhāṣā satiyak vēvā!)
This is the first Sri Lankan Language Week that has ever been celebrated at our school!
Even though Sri Lankan Language Week isn’t on the official New Zealand language week calendar yet, we believe it’s important to showcase and honour cultures from all across the globe. Getting to explore cultures that aren’t widely highlighted in NZ is what makes learning together so special!
Our school’s first Sri Lankan language week happened two weeks ago, from the 27th to the 31st of July. Throughout the week, we jumped into a variety of fun and meaningful activities like:
- Learning basic phrases in Sinhala—one of Sri Lanka’s main languages—as well as Tamil.
- We also learnt about Sri Lanka’s rich, interesting history, where we dove deep into colonisation throughout the years and other things like when the country’s modern name was established.
The school also invited a Sri Lankan traditional dance group led by students at ANI to give us an authentic glimpse of Sri Lankan culture and performing arts!
We have a little bit of homework for you, but I will give a bit of information about what you are learning about! Sri Lanka is home to 2 languages: Sinhala and Tamil, and the most commonly spoken language is Sinhala. Sinhala is spoken by 75 % of the population, and Tamil is spoken by the rest of the 25 % of the population. Sinhala consists of a whopping 121 characters, but that is not just the crazy part; there are also more characters if you use the extended sets and combined forms! (The extended set and combined forms are used for modern and classical Sanskrit/Pali to add many more phonetic combinations to fit modern-day words. On the other hand, Tamil is winning the alphabet race with 247 characters; that’s 126 characters more! There are 12 base vowels, 18 base consonants and 216 compound letters.
Now moving on to the homework! (optional)
Here is a table with English phrases translated into Sri Lankan phrases. There are Sri Lankan characters and pronunciation; you can learn some. The language we’re using is Sinhala, one of Sri Lanka’s languages.
So, without further ado lets see the English-to-Sinhala table!
English word | Sinhala word | Sinhala characters |
Common Time-Based Greetings: | podu vēlāva mata padanam vū suba pætum : | පොදු වේලාව මත පදනම් වූ සුබ පැතුම් : |
Good morning | Subha udasanak | සුභ උදෑසනක් |
Good afternoon | Subha dahawalak | සුභ දහවලක් |
Good evening | Subha sandhawak | සුභ සැන්දෑවක් |
Good night | Subha rathriyak | සුභ රාත්රියක් |
Useful Replies and Follow-ups : | prayōjanavat piḷituru saha pasu viparam : | ප්රයෝජනවත් පිළිතුරු සහ පසු විපරම් : |
How are you? | Kohomada? | කොහොමද? |
I am fine / Good | Hodin innawa / Hondai | හොඳින් ඉන්නවා / හොඳයි |
Thank you | Sthuthi / Istuti | ස්තුති / ඉස්තුති |
See you again / Bye | Gihin ennam | ගිහිං එන්න |
Hello / Welcome | Āyubōvan | ආයුබෝවන් |
Please | Karunakarala | කරුණාකරලා |
Yes | Ow | ඔව් |
No | Nǣ | නෑ |
Basic Questions and Needs | mūlika praśna saha avaśyatā | මූලික ප්රශ්න සහ අවශ්යතා |
What is your name? | Oyāgé nama mokakdhæ? | ඔයාගේ නම මොකක්ද? |
My name is…. | Magé nama… | මගේ නම… |
How much is this? | Méka kiyadhæ? | මේක කීයද? |
I want water | Maṭa vatura ōnē | මට වතුර ඕනේ |
I don’t understand | Maṭa thérinneh næ | මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ |
Getting Around and Help | gaman biman saha sahāya | ගමන් බිමන් සහ සහාය |
Where is…? | …kohedha? | …කොහෙද? |
Help me | Maṭa udav karannə | මට උදව් කරන්න |
Stop here | Metana navathvanna | මෙතන නවත්වන්න |
I need a doctor | Maṭa doctor kenek ōnē | මට ඩොක්ටර් කෙනෙක් |
Written by Chloe C
Edited by Chloe C
Thwack, Wizz, Woosh, Pickleballs Flying Through the Air!
On Thursday, the 6th of August, a pickleball tutorial was held here at ANI.
At 11:30am, around 20 Year 7 and 8 students came to the shade sail at ANI and learnt and played pickleball. It was a little challenging at the beginning, but as they practised more, it got easier. The lady who came taught everyone a heap!
Pickleball is a sport that is mixed with Tennis, badminton and Table tennis. With a Badminton net, a ball with holes (wiffle ball/plastic perforated ball) and a table tennis-like paddle. Pickleball can be played indoors and outdoors, and here are some differences in the ball when playing in different settings.
Types of Pickleballs:
- Indoor balls: Have 26 larger holes and are softer because they do not face wind.
- Outdoor balls: Have 40 smaller holes and are harder and heavier to fly straight in the wind.
Even though Pickleball is nearly a new sport, it has become popular rapidly. So if you are interested in Pickleball, sign up now.
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by three dads—Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum—who used spare table tennis paddles, a perforated plastic ball, and a lowered badminton net to entertain their bored children.
Origin and Name
- The dog story: Many believe the game was named after the family dog, Pickles, who chased stray balls.
- The crew boat story: Co-creator Joel Pritchard’s wife said the name came from a “pickle boat” in crew races, which used a mishmash of leftover oarsmen.
- State sport: Washington named pickleball its official state sport in March 2022.
Court and Equipment
- Court size: A pickleball court measures 20 by 44 feet, which is the exact same size as a doubles badminton court and one-third the size of a tennis court.
- The kitchen: The non-volley zone extending 7 feet from the net is famously nicknamed “the kitchen”.
- The ball: Official balls are made of hard plastic, contain between 26 and 40 round holes, and move at about one-third the speed of a tennis ball.
Fun Terms and Culture
- Pickled: If a team or player scores zero points in an entire match, they are said to be “pickled”.
- Picklers: Dedicated players of the sport proudly call themselves “picklers”.
- Dink: A soft, delicate shot that drops just over the net into the opponent’s kitchen.
Written by: Chloe C, Nina F, Ayla M, Mya P, & Caleb E
Edited by: Caleb E
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