Week  4  -  Term  1  -  2020

 
 
 
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Visit    tinyurl.com/vf6tzpz   

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:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Teacher Only Days For Your Diary

 
 
 
 

We have a Teacher Only Day on Friday May 8 for our school and another on Friday May 29 which is for all the schools in our Community of Learners (includes Henderson Intermediate, Liston, St Dom's and Waitakere College).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Story:

 
 
 

Control Your Temper (Anger)


There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence.


On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence.


The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

“You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

Moral of the story:

Control your anger, and don’t say things to people in the heat of the moment, that you may later regret. Some things in life, you are unable to take back.

 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Thinking:

 
 


Our Vision for Western Heights is simple - 

“Our Children, Our Land, For Our Future.”

We can expand that by saying we seek a future of  “A Thriving People In A Thriving Land.”


This came from a school and community focus on what is the most important thing in the world. 

We agreed it is people, followed by the land.


I would argue we cannot be a people separated from the land. Without the land we do not exist. It ties in with the Maori concept of Papatuanuku - Mother Earth.


Whether we think in mother terms or not, we depend on the land (and sea) for our very life. Without the land we cease to exist.

 
 
 
 
 
 

When a baby is born to the people of this land (tangata whenua), to Maori, it is customary to bury the whenua or placenta in the earth, to return it to the land. Most often the whenua is buried in a place with ancestral connection, and is considered a physical and spiritual link to the place of birth. This act has deep cultural and spiritual importance, as the land is a source of identity for Maori. We see ourselves  as not only of the land, but as the land. 


Our responsibility is act as the guardians of the land - a concept known as Kaitiakitanga. This tradition comes from the idea that tangata whenua were first made from earth, from the body of Papatuanuku. This leads us to understand why the word whenua has a dual meaning, meaning both the placenta – the tree of life that supports a baby through pregnancy, and also the land that connects us all. From earth people come and to earth they return.

 
 


Ma te wahine ka tupu ai te hanga nei, te tangata;

Ma te whenua ka whai oranga ai.

Whai hoki, ki te tangohia to wahine e te tangata ke,

Ka ngau te pouri ki roto i a koe.

Na, ki te tangohia te whenua e te tangata ke,

Ka pau to pouri ano.

Ko nga putake enei o te whawhai.

Koia i kia ai, He wahine he oneone, i ngaro ai te tangata.


Woman alone gives birth to humankind,

Land alone gives humans their sustenance.

No man will lightly accept the loss of

His beloved wife, nor that of his sacred land.

It is said truly that man’s destroying passions

Are the love of his wife and love of his land.


These ideas inform the concept of tūrangawaewae – a place to stand. In the Māori world view, much of life is about finding one’s tūrangawaewae, one’s foundation and place in the world. This is traditionally expressed through a people’s relationship with particular places, such as a mountain, a river and other important sites.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

Literally tūranga (standing place), waewae (feet), it is often translated as ‘a place to stand’. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel especially empowered and connected. They are our foundation, our place in the world, our home.

To be indigenous is to be born from the land where you live, and feel  continually born and reborn through an intimate relationship with earth, sea and sky. 

Traditional Māori knowledge includes elaborate genealogies about the world. There are various classifications of species of flora and fauna, rocks, fish and so on. These interlink to form a grand fabric, in which all things are interrelated.

To sum up, earth is our mother, the source of all good things. Our relationship with our mother is key to the life and success of us both

Consider your own mother, the pain she went through in child-birth, the sacrifices she made for your nurture and well-being. Our debt to our mothers is beyond measure. Without them we do not begin. Without their love and nurture, we do not survive. 

Whether we refer to earth as our mother, as Papatuanuku, or Gaea or simply our environment and home, the message needs to be the same. If we do not treasure the land, respect it, care for it and nurture its survival, there will be no Turangawaewae for us and our children.

In stating this challenge, we always approach it from a position of HOPE. There are many challenges facing us and our earth, but we are resourceful people, well able to work together for a common good. As long as we remember that and build on the good that exists, we can have hope for a bright and positive future.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s News:

 
 

Our various building projects are continuing apace. The outdoor sinks in our middle block look great painted. Bag hooks are in place and the Clear-Lite roofing will very soon be replaced. 

The Shade Cover is in place and looks fantastic. Gutters still need to be attached and that will happen in a week or so.

Our year two block of brand new  relocatable classrooms is getting very close to being finished. Concrete paths are going in and the toilet block has gone in. A water-retention tank has had to go in - not in the original plans - and this will happen very soon too.

We should be able to move classes into these rooms in about three weeks time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Cool Photos:

 
 

Last Thursday our year one and two children all travelled by bus to Cornwallis Beach. It is the perfect set up for a day at the beach - calm and flat and shallow for a long way out. The play area is great to run around on. The beach is a cool mix of colours - mainly brown and black - and there are lots of trees to provide much needed shade.

Our children, staff and  parents all had a great time. Thank you to everyone who supported this trip, and special thanks to Team Leaders Annette Pram and Dana Taylor who organised the trip and ensured everything went perfectly to plan.

 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Star:

 
 
 

At Right is one of our two new turtles - Whaea Whakamana. She is named after our Leadership Stone - Whakamana. Whakamana is the biggest of our five Pōhatu Tūmu - foundation stones - and she is the biggest of our five turtles.

Back at the Bird Barn where Whaea Whakamana grew up, she was the boss’s favourite. He would not have parted with her for anyone but us but knows how we care for and treasure our turtles and provide a great living environment for them.

One of the reasons he loved her so much was because she is so friendly and confident.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This has been the case since she came to us. Whaea Whakamana has been really friendly and relaxed from the day she arrived. This has rubbed off on the other turtles too - proving she is living up to her name and role as a leader.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Round-Up:

 
 
 

At Right:  A Play-Based Learning station in rooms 28/29.

Below:  Two of our student leaders, Dhwani and Faith from room 20,  with our Leadership Stone - Whakamana.

Bottom:  A beautiful sunrise at WHS

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Catch-Ups, Reminders and Notices:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Message From Lauren Nummy re World Vision:

Our World Vision collection is starting up again this week. Last year we raised over $980 for Khin Htar and Djeneba thanks to your support!

 We collect coins every Friday.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
tinyurl.com/tp3ymux
DIY interactive timeline builder for students, and adults that want to level up their local Aotearoa knowledge.
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

School Donations - We Are NOT Asking For Them but You Can If You Want To:

 
 
  
 
 
eMail From a Mum About Donations:

Natalie paid the donation as a token of gratitude. I thanked her sincerely and this is her reply…

You are most welcome Ash.  

It's really only a token gesture / drop in the bucket when you consider that your team are charged with raising and educating my daughter for around 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, 39 weeks a year (that's over a 1,000 hours).  My donation amounts to around 10c a day which really is ludicrous given the top education she is getting from WHS.

But I stand by my comments about the WHS staff.  They (and you) really are amazing and there's no one else I'd rather have helping to shape her during these formative years.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Tip:

 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Notices:

 
 
 
 
 
 

When you stop at the bottom gate on the yellow lines you send a message to other drivers this is an OK place to stop. 

It might not be busy when you do this but a queue can suddenly form in moments and it sends the wrong message.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I try to help manage traffic every day I possibly can. I admit I sometimes have been grumpy with parents who repeatedly park in the wrong place or who park on yellow lines for 30 minutes. I really don’t like being a growly person, and I apologise if I have upset anyone. 


Quite regularly I receive some pretty horrible, foul mouthed and very angry abuse from members of the public who are frustrated with our parent car queues. 


Sometimes I receive the same abusive language from parents. It’s not a great example to set for your children and it’s a good idea to remember I am trying to keep children and vehicles safe. 


When you don’t follow the guidelines accidents can happen - two happened recently - so please Drive ALL the Way to the TOP of the Zone. Thanks.

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Thoughts:

 
   
  
 
   
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Humour:

 
 
 
 
 
  
   
   
  
   
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

Western Heights School

126 Sturges Road

Henderson

Auckland 0612

P -  09 8361213

E -  macash@mac.com

M - 021 779 009

Office eMail

admin@westernheights.school.nz

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Ash Maindonald

Principal

 
 
 

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