Week 6 -  Term 3  -  2019

 
 
 
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Visit    https://goo.gl/JATwKZ    to follow  Whanau Time live. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

WHS YouTube  with 109 school videos https://goo.gl/OECvhD

 
 
 
 
 
 

Click on the Calendar icon for our Live Community Calendar

 
 
 
 
 

Calendar of Events - through to Week 9:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Malo e Lelei, Bula, Namastē, Namaskar, AyubowanKia Orana, Taloha Ni, Kumusta,  Aloha Mai E, Fakaalofa Lahi Atu, ‘Alii, Malo Ni, Halo Aloketa Aloha, Nī Hāo, Sawatdeekhrap  Sabaidi, Terve, Dobradan, Bonjour, Hola, Guten Tag, Ciao, Salaam, Olā, Zdravstvuyte, Konnichiwa, Ahn Young Ha Se Yo, Hoi, Merhaba, Jambo, Yasou, Shalom, Salamat Siang, Ahoj, Xin Chāo, Sawubona, Bok, Yiassoo, Hej, Dia Dhaoibh, Cham Reap Sour, Hoi, Vanakkam.

 
 
 
 
 
 

National Ripper Rugby Champions - Western Heights School:

 
 

There’s an old song that has a lyric that begins, “how sweet it is…” and it is sweet indeed to see all the hard work and effort our children and their coaches Jamie Laufiso and Tim Taura put in, come to fruition with the sweetest result of all - National Champions!

Jamie is an amazing coach, and we cannot ever thank him enough for what he has given to our children, our school and our community. Hugely respected at Waitemata Rugby Club for his work and achievements there, he can now add coach of a New Zealand Champion team to his CV. We will be presenting Jamie with a thank you at our Whanau Time Whole School Assembly this Friday.

At that Assembly we will also re-present the New Zealand Rugby Union Rippa Rugby National Champions trophy to our victorious team. 

A quick run down of results - on day one we played four and won four. On day two we faced Taranaki in the final pool game. They were a tough team and we won in the very final second thanks to Noah literally leaping up and over the opposition defence into the end zone. That ensured we were the only team of the 28 representative teams to win every game in our pool.

So to the semi final, to face the team representing the Waikato Rugby Union. It was a game of stunning composure for our team - they were clinical on defence and devastating on attack. They won 50 to 25.

So it was now on to the final, playing Poverty Bay Union. Our team stayed true to their “processes” as All Blacks Coach Steve Hansen would say, and Poverty Bay had no answer. In the end we finished deserved winners 30 to 15.

Every player shone throughout the tournament. Every player stood up and faced the challenge. None got their head down after an error. None panicked if we went behind on the scoreboard. All displayed excellent sportsmanship - even in the face of provocation from the occasional opponent who couldn’t handle how good we were. 

Monique was an amazing Chaperone, she could and should be a teacher, we all agreed.

Jules and Pete Brown sponsored the team with black hoodies and black backpacks - both with our school logo embroidered. The team will keep their WHS polos and jackets - which will be screen printed with their achievement on the back.

Finally, our thanks to all the parents who came and supported - they were awesome - and to our whole school who watched the games live, made placards, sent messages and erupted into a spontaneous Haka when we won the final. What a weekend, how sweet it is...

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
  
 
 

Top Left: The team with their medals and trophy.                  Above:  Our team page in the official programme.

Above:    Jamie delivers a crucial half time talk in the final vs Poverty Bay.

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Dylan breaks through against Waikato in the semi final.    Dylan scores a spectacular try in the corner vs BOP

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Ella made an intercept against Waikato in the semi final - touching down after a 30 metre sprint for the line.

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Kendra takes a tough pass with ease.                                         Rhylee with a try in the semi vs Waikato

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Flynn scores against Taranaki.                                                       Max dives in to score against Waikato

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Mila times her pass perfectly.                                                      Max delivers the perfect pass.

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Noah goes airborne in the final second against Taranaki - and lands safely to give us the last-gasp win.

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Noah airborne from another angle - it was spectacular.    Kendra lines up and makes the tag in the final.

 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 

Zak dives in to score against Wairarapa Bush                          and again against Mid Canterbury.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
 

Top Above:  Max with a perfect backline formation awaiting his pass.   Above:   Max and Ella - co captains.

Above:    Game over and posing for the official photographer.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

Our whole school put on a Winners’ Welcome for the team on Wednesday morning. Our school’s support for this team has been phenomenal!

 
 

Above:  Ariel with her Western Heights jacket, her gold medal and the Championship Trophy.

Below:  The team and parents, coaches and supporters all celebrate.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Short Message of the Week:

 
 
 

While at Harvard last year, we examined school culture in great detail. We considered the various elements that make up a school’s culture, identifying that it’s actually a combination of many cultures - the culture of the parents, the culture of the kids, the culture of the staff and the culture that exists across the community.

As our school principal I understand I am the the chief advocate and  “the standard I walk past is the standard I accept.” 


I shared this mantra with staff recently and know I can never walk past a piece of rubbish again - as just one example of this.


No matter how complex the makeup of our school’s culture, one fact remains consistent - everyone has an effect on it. 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

Each and every one of us, whether we like it or not, whether it is intentional or unintentional, through what we say or don’t say, through what we do or don’t do, through a glance, a frown, a smile, a laugh or a grumble, we all effect the culture of the school. 

Our actions and our words, regardless of how small, are like throwing a pebble into a pond. They create a ripple and that ripple, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, travels across the pond and affects everything within that pond. 

 
 
 
 
 

WHS Netball - Season Round-Up:

 
 
 

Wow, another Netball season has come to an end. First and foremost I would like to thank the wonderful Coaches and Managers of each team. We appreciate the time and effort that you all put into our children. We had 8 teams entered into the Waitakere Netball Competition this year. We had three Year 1-2 teams. One of which was the Western Heights Cats coached by Monique Talbot, who were unbeaten all season. Such a huge effort by these girls. They will be a force to be reckoned with in future years of the competition. Our Year Three team The Tigers played in Grade 1 and finished their season in the top three teams of the competition. As did our top Year 4 team The Leopards who also finished in the top three teams in Grade 1. The Jaguars who were our second Year 4 team didn’t place in their competition but their coach Lea said that they had the most fun season ever and the girls had a blast. That's what sport is all about.


 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our Year 5 and 6 girls brave the cold and play on a Saturday morning. The Pumas team finished the season third overall in Grade 6. The Lions finished 5th in Grade 4.

All in all Western Heights Netball is looking strong for the years ahead. Congratulations to all the girls on a fantastic season. Remember Team photos are on Thursday 12th September, followed by Prizegiving on Friday 13th September.                  Mrs Greenhalgh

 
 
 

Above:  Year 6 Pumas Netball team 2019.

This season we ranked 3rd. All players of our team and families have had a wonderful time and memories together indeed

 
 
 
 
 

Catch Ups:

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
  
   
 
 

Every year every class participates in a “Pay It Forward” project - either for our school, our community, or even further afield. Rooms 13 and 27 are installing a painted “Friendship Seat.”

They put a post on Facebook asking for donations of off-cut timber to build one. Matt Sneddon - builder, businessman, Club President at Waitakere Bears Softball Club, all round ‘good guy’ (and ex student of mine back in year six at Prospect School) - rose to the occasion and built one and donated it to our two excited classes.

They will paint it and install it and we are all looking forward to seeing and enjoying the finished product. Thanks Matt and children of rooms 13 and 27.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 

Four Pillars of a Meaningful Life:

 
 
 

When Emily Esfahani Smith went to college and embarked on her adult life she thought the key to a happy life was success. She was looking for the perfect job, boyfriend and apartment. But the longer she chased the things she thought would make her happy, the more anxious and adrift she felt. So she decided to go to graduate school to study positive psychology and figure out once and for all what makes people happy. But what she learned was that many people feel hopeless, depressed and alone.

 
 
 
 
 
 

"There's an emptiness gnawing away at people and you don't have to be clinically depressed to feel it," Esfahani Smith said in a TED talk.

And the research shows that what predicts this despair is not a lack of happiness, it's a lack of having meaning in life. Psychologists often define happiness as feeling good in the present moment, whereas meaning gets at something deeper. The psychologist Martin Seligman said meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself, and from developing something within you.


Esfahani Smith spent five years reading the research in neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and interviewing hundreds of people to try to figure out how we can each lead more meaningful lives. She says meaning can be created by focusing on four pillars, although they don't all have to be present for every person.


1. Belonging. "Belonging comes from being in relationships where you are valued for who you are intrinsically and where you value others as well," Esfahani Smith said. She cautions the "cheap" type of belonging that revolves around being valued for what you believe or who you hate, and that real belonging comes from love. She also says belonging is a choice; people can cultivate belonging in a community.


2. Purpose. This is not the same thing as a job that makes you happy. "The key to purpose is using your strengths to serve others," she said. For many people, that happens through work, which means economic problems like low workforce involvement or lack of engagement at work are existential problems too. "Purpose gives you something to live for, some 'why' that drives you forward," Esfahani Smith said. For many people, purpose comes from being a good parent, for example.


3. Transcendence. Transcendence is when "you're lifted above the hustle and bustle of daily life, your sense of self fades away and you feel connected to a higher reality," Esfahani Smith said. For some that might be looking at art, or worshipping at church or maybe taking a walk in the woods.


4. Storytelling. She says this one often surprises people, but the story we tell ourselves about ourselves is powerful and can change. "Creating a narrative about the things in your life brings clarity. It helps you understand how you became you," Esfahani Smith said. "But we don't always realize that we're the authors of our own stories and can change the way we're telling them. Your life isn't just a list of events. You can edit, interpret and retell your story even as you're constrained by the facts."

In other words, we can all reflect on the experiences that shaped us, the things we lost, and the things we gained and tell a story about who we became from those experiences. The psychologist Dan McAdams has found that people who lead meaningful lives tend to tell stories about themselves defined by redemption, growth and love.


These pillars can be used in communities both good and bad. They're the qualities of gangs and cults that lead people to live and die for them. But they could also be incredibly positive in learning communities like schools.

 
 
 
 
 

Parenting - Teaching - Learning = A Weekly Series:

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

If you have a business and would be interested in donating goods, services or items to our (worthy) fundraiser, please contact DP Teresa Hannard at teresah@westernheights.school.nz 

You will make her day! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

David Pogue’s Life Hacks - A Series - Food Tips:

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday’s Thoughts:

 
   
  
 
   
   
  
 
 
 
 
 

Kindness is the Key:

 
 
  
 
 
 
 

Welcome to our Newest Western Heights Whanau:

 
 
 

No one new to welcome this week but lots of new children starting on day one in term three.

See you soon!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Parenting

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 

This Week on Twitter

 
 
  
   
   
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

Western Heights School

126 Sturges Road

Henderson

Auckland 0612

P -  09 8361213

E -  macash@mac.com

M - 021 779 009

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Ash Maindonald

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