Swim & Survive - Thank you to our funders!

Year 3 & 4 students are learning how to swim - they are put in to 3 ability groups with an instructor for each group. 

All Pt England children had 8-10 half hour swimming lessons this term at the Glen Innes Aquatics Centre which is situated next to our school.  Learning how to swim and survive when problems arise in the water are essential life skills that our students need to know.  Our Year 1, 2, 7 & 8 classes were taught by one instructor and the classroom teacher.  However, 150 of our Year 3-6 students had the luxury of receiving lessons in small groups from 3 swim instructors, free of charge.

Being a decile 1 school, our Year 3-6 classes were eligible to participate in the GAAAP swim programme (Greater Auckland Aquatic Action Plan).  We are one of 147 Auckland schools  in the decile 1-6 category that receive free lessons by trained professional instructors.  Our students have made a huge progress since the programme began in 2012.  Here's our data:

895 Pt. England students have been through the programme since 2012.
Before 0 Pt. England students could swim 200m and now 83 Pt England students could swim 200m
Before 15 students could swim 100m and now 184 students could swim 100m
Before 63 could swim 50m and now  343 students could swim 50m
Before 178 could swim 25m and now 573 students could swim 25m

According to the statistics provided by the Aktive Sport and Recreation organisation, around 90% of 7-9 year olds can't swim 200m unaided and 5-13 year old Maori & Pacific Island children are over-represented in drowning statistics.  So we are all extremely grateful to the funding partners who invest in the programme: Sport NZ, ASB Community Trust, Water Safety NZ, Sealord and the Auckland Council.  On Wednesday the 18th of March, it was an opportunity for Aktive and our children to say thank you to the funders.  The 500,000th swim lesson (Year 6 class) was filmed and celebrated on Wednesday the 18th March along with our principal, the Mayor of Auckland and the MC (master of ceremonies) was the television entertainer, Pio Terei.

Our Year 3 & 4 students are also taught about water safety and boat skills and what to do when problems arise.

The Day the Hokule'a landed on Pt England Beach

Left photo: 10.00am The Hokule'a and Hikianalia crew along with Hawai'is Education leaders land on Pt England Beach.
Right photo: 1.30pm Intermediate boys vs Kings Prep School at Kings, Remuera

One of the iconic Polynesian voyaging canoes, the Hokule'a was launched on March 8th 1975.  Forty years on, 12 schools in our Manaiakalani cluster, had the privilege of witnessing the magnificent waka land on Pt England Beach, also accompanied by another voyaging canoe, the Hikianalia, that carried Hawai'is education leaders.  It was a marvellous occasion that will always be remembered. More information can be found on their website: Hokule'a - Point England Welcome

It was also the day that 23 intermediate boys played friendly touch games against 3 teams from the Kings Preparatory School in Remuera.  After such a busy, significant morning, where a number of boys were the leaders, videographers and carers for junior students - they were tired.  However, they still had enough energy to travel to Kings to play a game of touch.  When we arrived, the boys who had never been there before, were so fascinated by the spongy artificial grass, that some chose to play bare foot or in socks.  A few chose to lie on it, and could've easily had an afternoon nap but they had games to play!  The 'B' and 'C' grade games were fairly close but our 'A' team, comprising of mostly Year 7's were beaten by a well prepared team.  They will be better for the experience and can build on their knowledge to make improvements by Term 4 when we'll meet each other again in touch.

This is the second year we've played touch against Kings in the first term and coming up next term, it will be our third year in playing rugby union against their 15-aside U68kgs team.  We have also played softball against a couple of their teams in the past as well.  It's a friendly sports exchange that's a mutually beneficial experience for both schools.

Y5 & 6 Rippa Rugby team are off to Eden Park!

Primary Eastern Zone Rippa Rugby Tournament, Dunkirk Rd, Panmure

Our Year 5 & 6 mixed rippa rugby team earned a place to play at Eden Park against the champions of the West, South and Central school zones, by winning all of their games at the Eastern Zone Challenge Series on Friday, 27th March.  Our girls team automatically qualify for the Auckland Inter-Zone tournament as they were the only team who entered the series in our zone.

The tournament at Eden Park will determine who will represent Auckland at the annual September NZ national tournament in Wellington.  The prospect of playing at the epic Eden Park where the NZ All Blacks won the World Cup in 2011, is exciting enough for the players and for some team members, it will be their first experience - the team is thrilled to be going!

They played 6 games against Howick School, Elm Park and Glendowie School, playing the final in a tough encounter against a coherent Glendowie team, just winning 5-3.  The highest male try scorers on the day were Flynlay Kake (7 tries) and Alfa Kepu-Saafi (7 tries) and our speedy female winger, Faioso Faletanoai (5 tries).  The girls were solid contenders, who were able to match male opponents with their skills and confidence, contributing overall to a strong team performance.

This is the 3rd year that Pt England will represent the Eastern Zone area, having either a mixed or girls team compete in the fiercely contested tournament.  This year will be no different.  What's also rewarding about their win, is that they are invited to stay and watch the Super Rugby Round 11 game between the Auckland Blues and the Western Force team on Saturday, 2nd May - a great initiative created by the ARU, Auckland Rugby Union.

Y5 & 6 Team (as in photo): Back standing left to right: Montel Brack, Emmanuel Taka, Jonathon Fifita, Lani Puri, Angelica Vahai, Aneelis Gataua. Sitting left to right: Lomio-Lee Gataua, Rosalina Paketama, Faioso Faletanoai.  Lying down left to right: Flynlay Kake and Alfa Kepu-Saafi

The 'Acer Racer' at the Soap Box Derby 2015

And they're off!  Our Soap Box Derby team competed in the Auckland Eastern Zone competition yesterday.  It's a day where trolleys could be racing down the course at around 60kph in about 30 seconds.  Venetia Joyce, Yvone Vili-Tesi, Chyrus Valoa and Talita Va'afusuaga were our 2015 Year 6 drivers, in our eye-catching, shiny 'Acer Racer' car.   Actually the car is not new, but the body paint is - it now has a specially made silver chromed covered skin, kindly sponsored by Acer Inc who also provide chromebooks (netbooks) for our Year 4-8 students.  

The race took place on Stonefields Avenue, beside the AMI Auckland netball courts which is only a 5 minute drive from school. The Pit Crew on the day were Flynlay Kake, Waimaria Scott and Aysha Lote with the meticulous coach, our associate principal, Garth Jacobsen and his wife Elaine, the efficient manager as the team leaders.  There are many benefits for our students, who learn about the design and mechanics of a soap box car, and put into practise, the teamwork that's essential for this competition.

The six fastest teams in this weekend's competition will go through to the New Zealand finals on March 30 and the top driver at nationals gets to hit the track at the World Championship in Ohio. 

Soap Box derby races are a very big deal in America - check this out: All American Soap Box Derby.  If you want to see a spectacular race with some impressive, creative cars - then watch this clip:

Awesome Soap Box Derby Cars - Los Angeles Race, America

It's 2015! Where has the year gone?

Before I start posting lots about what we've been up to so far this year which has been heaps, I would like to share a list of our best sports people for 2014.  The following students received awards at our annual end of year school prizegiving.

Year 5 & 6 Softball Tournament

Since the first day of school, we had 45 Year 5 & 6 boys and girls turn up to 3 trials for 2 mixed softball teams.  Our softball teams compete once a year at the annual Tamaki Sports Cluster tournament at the Mt Wellington War Memorial Reserve on Dunkirk Road in Panmure.  It was difficult to try and pick some players but because we were able to find enough coaches, we were pleased that just about everyone got selected to play at the tournament.  Thank you coaches - you helped make it possible!

The results of the tournament:

Year 5 'Blue' team - 1st place (coached by Timmi Nouata)

Best Player: Zack Stephenson, Best Batter: Christian Lilo, Best Fielder: Cody West

Year 5 'Red' team - 3rd place (coached by Priscilla Lavakula)

Best Player: Judah Penu, Best Batter & Most Fairest: Tevita TJ Paniani, Best Fielder: Emmanuel Taka

Year 6 'Red' team - 1st place (coached by Sally Va'afusuaga & Tyson Puru)

Best Player: Sohel Mohammed, Best Effort: Elizabeth Uea, Most Improved: Owen Lemusu

Year 6 'Blue' team - won 2 games, lost 2 games (coached by Tyson Puru)

Best Player: Johnlee Hovell, Best Batter: Tevita Smith, Best Fielder: Rowana Tui, Great Effort: Ryan Bohea

The full results and team lists can be found on our 'Sports' Site.

Lunchtime Cricket

On Thursdays, Mr Va'afusuaga takes a group of keen students for some lunchtime cricket games.  Last week, we had about 30 Year 5-7 students turn up to have a go.  We were hoping to participate at our local Tamaki cluster inter-school cricket tournament but the date clashes with our annual Year 5 & 6 camp, so in the meantime, we're just going to enjoy learning how to play the game.