Week  11  -  Term  2  -  2020

 
 
 
View Online
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Welcome:

 
 


Greetings Parents and Caregivers


An important reminder - the last day of term is Friday July 3 - BUT this is a 

Teacher Only Day 

at Western Heights, so the last day of term for our children is Thursday July 2.

 
 
 
kia ora
 
 
 
 
 
 

Beloved Pet Still Missing:

 
 
 

After 13 years Mowgli is more than just one of the family for Shradha and her family, and they are desperate to find him.

Thank you to everyone who has been offering support in the mission to find Mowgli and bring him home.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Police Visit to Rooms 28 and 29:

 
 
 

Last Friday’s news that a Policemen lost his life conducting a routine traffic stop, and another is still fighting for his life, is just devastating. This is not the place to dwell on the event, but our deepest and sincerest sympathies go out to the families and their colleagues. It is hard to comprehend that such a thing can happen here in NZ.


Prior to this on Thursday rooms 28 and 29 hosted two Police Officer visitors - teacher Nicole Nicholson’s partner is an Officer as are a number of our parents.


Nicole organised for  her husband Alex, and officers  Jen and Dina to visit Pod A . They read a story, showed pictures of the police dog, police boat, car and helicopter. The children had some very interesting questions. Lafu (room 9) wanted to know if they like donuts? That was a definite yes. Flynn (room 29) wanted to know if they got all sweaty after running so much? Great interesting questions from our five year olds. Room 28/29 were lucky enough to get a class photo with their three police visitors.  They showed our children what is inside a police person's vest and they even got to hear the radio as HQ send a message. It was an amazing visit from our local police station in Henderson.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Latest EPro8 Activity Challenge:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

WHS Little Free Library:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tēnā koutou, 

Our Little Free Library is running a bit low on books at the moment. The idea with the Little Free Library is that you take a book, and donate a book if you have one to donate. This way  our children can take free books throughout the year - yay!

If you have had a spring clean of your child's books and would like to donate some to our school, feel free to just put them in The Little Free Library which is outside the staffroom, or bring them to Miss Eyre's room, Room 22. 

Thanks for your tautoko (support)!

Miss Eyre

 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Writing - The Importance of Hope:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

At Left - Piper and Maddison with the first stages of their Appreciative Inquiry PALS Project on Water Pollution

 
 
 

The Importance of Hope - Achieved Through Appreciative Inquiry:


As you may have heard from me, I am working on my Masters this year. My course requires the second year of my studies to be focused on a Change Project for learning. 

I chose Appreciative Inquiry through the lease of PALS - People And Land Savers. Over the next few weeks I will share some of the thinking that has gone into our Change Project.


Appreciative Inquiry - Eight Assumptions:

Sue Annis Hammond's “The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry”  outlines eight assumptions of the Appreciative Inquiry Process.  We can use these tools to help us understand and explain The Appreciative Inquiry Process.  

  1. In every society, organisation or group, something works.

  2. What we focus on becomes our reality.

  3. Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities.

  4. The act of asking questions of an organisation or a group influences the group in some way.

  5. People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known).

  6. If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what is best about the past.

  7. It is important to value differences.

  8. The language we use creates our reality.

Appreciative Inquiry - Why We Focus on Hope with Our Children:

President Obama’s used Hope as the mantra of his 2008 campaign.

"Through Hope change can come.” (More on this below).


If we do not take this approach we risk crushing our children’s spirit, as the following material indicates:

Our children at this point in their lives are more at risk mentally and emotionally than they are necessarily at risk physically, from climate change.

Van Susteren notes, many kids worry about how the impacts of climate change are expected to only worsen. “They look at the generation ahead of them that could have taken action and didn’t,” she says. “This can trigger feelings of anger, grief, resentment, fear, frustration and being overwhelmed. Not every young person will feel these emotions. But for many, the feelings can get in the way of their general well-being.” 


In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO), cited an added emphasis on "the global call to action to reduce climate change" is having psychological impacts on children and adults worldwide. 

Much of climate change’s burden falls on today’s children and young people. They are the ones who will have to survive in this hotter, harsher world. This threat is causing great distress in our young people - more so than most of us likely realise.


Eco-anxiety, or climate anxiety, is severe and persistent distress about global warming. Research suggests climate anxiety is quite common among kids. One study surveyed 600 Australian kids ages 10-14. Among the respondents:

  • 43% were worried about air and water pollution.

  • 52% were worried about whether they would have enough water in the future.

  • 25% were worried the world would end before they got older.

Similar numbers have been found in other studies.


If these fears are left to simmer without relief, they can lead to chronic stress. A child could also go to the other extreme, developing a sense of hopelessness. Some children could feel that the end of the world is inevitable. They may lose motivation to do well in school. Grief for a lost future could overwhelm any attachment to the present. 


The response suggested by many of the psychologists, thinkers and commentators I have read suggest we support a call to action to help regenerate our eco-systems. Action helps overcome the stasis that is generated from the sense of hopelessness and helplessness. We need to support our young people to believe they do have a role to play. There is hope and their actions will have an impact and make a difference. 


Appreciative Inquiry approaches a challenge or a problem from a place of Hope. It begins with what is working…

In “Thrive: Schools Reinvented for the Real Challenges We Face:” by Valerie Hannon,  Valerie focuses on the question she was tasked with answering for a report on the Future of Learning - “What Is The Purpose of School?” 

Valerie contends our great purpose must be ‘Learning to Thrive in a Transforming world’ - she refers to the theory we are on the cusp of change so great that there has never been a time of greater promise or greater peril.

We have summarised this as “A Thriving People In A Thriving Land.”

Appreciative Inquiry also supports a narrative-based process of positive change. We become a community of story-tellers - sharing good news at every opportunity. Generating Hope. 


To return to the tenant of Hope as expressed by Barack Obama:

Gary Westphalen and Serena Marshall wrote an article in 2020 for abc News in America on “The Obama Legacy: A Promise of Hope”. They begin their treatise with the following quote from Barack Obama,  “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear.”

Obama’s message of hope was badly needed. After ticking off the many negatives America faced as a nation, Obama insisted that the country needed to “seize gladly” its hardships head-on and turn these challenges into successes.


“With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what storms may come,” Obama concluded, his voice rising with conviction. “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter.” 


Hope is a challenging concept at times such as this. 

And yet, there is always hope. One of the enduring messages of Covid19 was the impact it had on the non-human world. While hundreds of thousands of humans were dying, our world, in our enforced locked-down absence, was restoring itself. In many cases, more than restoring, even thriving. The waterways of Venice ran clear for the first time in living memory of the locals. The air pollution levels dropped. Birds were seen and heard.

Herein is a microcosm of the challenge that faces us. How do we ensure the financial survival of families and individuals, but without the destructive environmental impact that has brought us to such an ominous and perilous point in time, under threat of our very survival due to the impact of humanity generated climate change and global warming?


While this is a step beyond the capacity of our year six students for now, there is still much they can do and contribute.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Property Update:

 
 
 

At Right - our new sign. We have only just received the software to properly display information on it. Hopefully it will help keep you informed. Guidelines require slides stay displayed for 8 seconds - so not changing quickly.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

At Left - our Astro-Turf court is done.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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

 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

CHASE BAKER  - senior school -  misplaced his brand new burgundy coloured jacket with a hood. If anyone has seen it please let Mr M - me -  know. Thanks.

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Tips:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Thoughts:

 
   
  
 
   
   
  
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Humour:

 
 
 
 
   
  
   
   
  
   
   
  
   
 
 
 
 
 

This Week’s Dad Tweet:

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
Website 
 
Facebook 
 
Twitter
 
 
 
 
  
 
Facebook  
 
Twitter 
 
 
 
 

Update Email Address

Unsubscribe

View Online

 
 
 
 
 
 

As part of our ongoing initiative to move towards Zero Waste, we no longer send home printed newsletters. This way of keeping you in touch with our school is mobile friendly and enviro-friendly.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Should you not want to receive our newsletter via email, please click the Unsubscribe link above.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ash Maindonald

Principal

 
 
 

Thank you for reading our newsletter.

Thank you for supporting our awesome school and wonderful teachers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Direct Mail for Mac This email is powered by Direct Mail for Mac. Learn MoreReport Spam