School Information
- Resources and Online Activities Year 1 and 2
- Resources and Online Activities Year 3 and 4
- Resources and Online Activities Year 5 and 6
Before School and/or After School Facilities
Premium Kids Care – Before and Afterschool Care at Pinehill School
School Lunches
Ezlunch – www.ezlunch.co.nz or 022 EZLUNCH (022 395 8624) – Orders need to be placed by 9.00amKids Link
Our reporting processes are designed to provide timely and quality information about your child’s learning.
At the beginning of term 1, your child will bring home a Student Information for Teachers sheet where you are able to fill in details of your child’s needs and interests. This assists class teachers in understanding your child’s learning needs and your aspirations for them in the coming year.
3 Way Conferences are held twice yearly at all class levels so that all children can share their learning outcomes with parents. You will be advised of the details of these through our weekly newsletter in the weeks prior.
Written reports are issued at the end Term 2 and the end of Term 4.
All staff are available at other times to discuss your child’s learning. The best way to make contact with your child’s teacher is via email. See the staff page for email addresses.
Please click on the link to book a School Interview.
- Each conference takes 15mins – Your child will talk about their learning
- There will be an opportunity during this time for a discussion without your child present if requested by their teacher or yourself
- A timetable is available online – You are able to book conference times online: Click here
- Families with more than one child attending the school should make their bookings for times for all children leaving at least one appointment time between each child’s conference.
- It is recognised that if our children are to be successful in the future they must be given the skills to learn how to learn. We want them to understand that learning is something they do, it is not something done to them. Strategies like Three-Way Conferencing increasingly lead students towards becoming self-directed, independent learners.
- Where 3WC is held, students become responsible for leading the discussion and providing evidence of progress and achievement. Their task is to provide a range of work to illustrate the progress they have made. Three-way conferences ensure that the focus remains on the students and the critical role they have in determining their own next steps for learning.
- If students are to develop as independent learners they must reflect on their own progress and look at what they can learn from what they have accomplished. This is becoming an integral part of their classroom programme. The 3WC is an opportunity for those supporting the learner to assist in developing their skills of reflection.
- Metacognition is our ability to know what we know and what we don’t know. It is our ability to plan a strategy for producing what information is needed, to be conscious of our own steps and strategies during the act of problem-solving, and to reflect on and evaluate the productiveness of our own thinking. Thinking about thinking begets more thinking. (Costa, 1991)
- Reflection is the key to metacognition – the process of learning to learn. Reflection encourages students to think about their own thinking. It develops their ability to know how to think, and not simply what to think. Reflection is being able to stand back, to think about what has been done well, to identify difficulties, and to focus on areas for improvement… Where students are able to reflect on their current strengths and weaknesses, they are in a strong position to set their own future goals.
- Where students set goals, individuals were shown to have made impressive gains in terms of academic achievement…. (Atman 1988)
- When students know assessment criteria prior to commencing work, there is a much greater likelihood that the learning goals will be achieved. Students can assess their own work against stated standards. Clear performance standards give students a goal towards which they should strive. They know what is required to achieve.
These understandings give students skills for life in learning how to learn. We are empowering them to become self-directed, independent, lifelong learners, able to cope with whatever challenges they may face in the future.
Your Role as a Parent
- Be an active participant in your child’s learning
- Focus on learning about processes (skills) not content (facts)
- Ask questions about their learning and next steps for future learning
Questions you could ask your child to help discuss their learning:
- What have you been learning?
- Tell me what you think you are doing well?
- What helped with this learning?
- What did you find difficult?
- What do you need help with?
- What are your next learning steps?
Kea Crossing
We have been manning the Kea crossing on Spencer Road for a number of years. Students have used road patrol signs to help cross children safely but we have very few children who cross using the Kea crossing as it is so far from the school.
We have been trying to arrange for the Kea crossing to move closer to school and it has been agreed that it will be moved, however, we don’t have a date for this to happen.
Due to the large number of children who are now crossing at the intersection of Spencer Road and Kerekin Drive we have decided to stop manning the Kea crossing and instead use our road patrollers at this intersection. We have made this decision in consultation with Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Police.
This crossing will not have signs. We ask that you drive slowly through this area and support our students to cross safely.
The Kea crossing further up Spencer Road is now no longer operational. Please encourage your children to cross at the intersection with the support of school staff and road patrollers.
As part of our Road Safety Campaign and keeping our students safe we have added some links to useful sites published by Auckland Transport. We hope you find some of this information helpful.
A walking school bus is just like a school bus except children walk to and from school under the supervision of adult volunteers (often parents). This creates a safe and social journey to school.
Children are collected from stops along a planned route and dropped off at the school gate. Along the way they learn how to safely negotiate the road as well as socialise and share stories with friends and neighbours. What a great way to travel to school!
Walking school buses contribute to reducing the amount of traffic around schools. In Auckland there are more than 200 active walking school buses, with over 4,000 children walking to school. That’s a lot of active feet on the street.
How does it work?
Walking buses usually begin at 8.30am, but this depends on length of the route and the stop that the children get on at. Routes vary in length, usually about 1.5 km and/or a 30 minute walk at most. Most walking school buses walk the reverse route in the afternoon.
A walking school bus can operate all five days of the school week or as little as one day per week. This depends on the availability of parent volunteers.
If you are interested in a walking school bus route please contact the parent for the route you are wanting to join.
| WSB Routes | Days | Departure Time | Locations | Contact Details |
| Pinehill Penguins | Morning Everyday | 8.10am | AM: Leaves from 1 Kilear Cl at 8:10am. Another pick up point at 8.30am from 2 Ballymore Dr | Calla Chang |
| Pinehill Penguins | Afternoon Mon – Thurs | 3.10pm | PM: Meeting outside Room 5. Leaves school at 3.10pm (arrives at 2 Ballymore Dr) | Calla Chang |
| Bridge | Everyday | 8.40am | Leaves from 71 Spencer Road | Lamia Bouaifel |
| Spencer Road | Morning ONLY Mon – Thurs | 8.30am | Leaves from 12 Spencer Rd at 8:30am | Kelly Liang |
Benefits of the Walking School Bus
Walking School Bus Road Safety and Hazard Identification Guidelines
This safety video is more for people who are already in the programme. However, it is good for non-WSB people who are unsure of how safe WSBs are.
Travelwise
TravelWise is an ongoing project with a set of practical actions that aim to improve road safety and promote sustainable school travel journeys. It is a partnership between Auckland Transport and the school. Our school is committed to safe, active and sustainable travel to and from school.
The benefits include:
- Reduced traffic congestion at the school gates, this improves safety for all children.
- Reduction of polluting car emissions in the environment.
- Helping children learn road safety skills and become familiar with their community.
- Improved engineering infrastructure to promote walking / cycling within the school zone.
- Encouraging walking / cycling to improve children’s fitness and health.
- Encouraging walking / cycling to ensure that children arrive alert and ready to learn.
- Promoting the Walking School Bus
The “TravelWise” school travel plan has been developed in consultation with the students, staff, and parents.
We encourage all our children to walk, or scooter to and from school.
In order to make this a safer process we have adopted a number of practices which we hope will encourage parents to support the idea of walking, scootering or biking to school.
- We have a 40 kph speed zone around all the approaches to our school
- We have supervised crossings on Hugh Green Drive and Spencer Road
- We have a walking school bus route – currently cancelled due to lack of supervision.
- Free High Viz vests are provided by Auckland Transport to children who have permission to scooter or bike regularly to and from school (forms are available at the School Office or click here)
- Road Safety is taught regularly as part of our curriculum
More information about the TravelWise programme can be found at http://www.travelwise.org.nz/
More information about TravelWise and Walking School Buses across Auckland can be found at http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
This programme is being run in our three Year Four classes (8-year-old students). The instructors are Judy Mulder and Sarah Ward. Our philosophy is that if we teach the programme at this level, we are setting the students up to be effective role models in our senior school.
We have nine themes throughout the year.
- Meet the Baby
- Crying
- Caring and Planning for baby
- Emotions
- Sleep
- Safety
- Communicating
- Who Am I?
- Farewell and Good Wishes
- Celebration
The goals of the programme are :- To foster the development of Empathy (to put yourself in someone else’s shoes)
- To develop emotional literacy
- To reduce the levels of bullying, aggression and violence
- To foster pro-social behaviours
- To increase knowledge of human development, learning and infant safety
- To prepare students for responsible citizenship and responsive parenting.
To view, the Roots of Empathy website for more information click here.
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2016 Roots of Empathy
Pinehill School is a Kindo school.
Use our Kindo online school shop to easily view, register and pay for your child’s school needs. It is our preferred method of payment and we encourage you to set up your account today.
First-time Users: Set up an account easily. All you need is your email address which matches the one held by the school.
We use the Kindo online shop to take registrations for sports and activities and many other things. It is linked to our Student Management System.
All stationery orders can be completed online by clicking here.
* Year 3 only will need to purchase a recorder (a musical instrument for music lessons)
Both items can be brought at the Warehouse Stationery
Education Review Office
Partners in Learning Booklet – Helping your child do well at school. This booklet is for all parents and carers who want their child to do well at school. The information in this booklet will help you know what to expect from your child’s school. Please click here for the booklet.
Term Dates 2022
Term 1: Thursday 3 February to Wednesday 13 April
Term 2: Monday 2 May to Friday 8 July
Term 3: Monday 25 July to Friday 30 September
Term 4: Monday 17 October to Friday 16 December
2022 Holidays
Schools will be closed in 2022 on Saturdays and Sundays and on the following holidays:
Auckland Anniversary Day: Monday 31 January (School holidays)
Waitangi Day: Sunday 6 February (observed Monday 7 February)
Good Friday: Friday 15 April
Easter Monday: Monday 18 April (School holidays)
Easter Tuesday: Tuesday 19 April (School holidays)
Anzac Day: Monday 25 April (School holidays)
Queen’s Birthday: Monday 6 June
Matariki: Friday 24 June
Queens Memorial Day 26 Sept
Labour Day: Monday 24 October
Teacher Only Days: Wednesday 2 February, Thursday 14 April & Thursday 23 June
The Resilience Project is a well-being programme that has been delivered to over 1000 schools and early learning centres across Australia and is now being delivered to schools in New Zealand. The programme has been designed by teachers for teachers, and has been evaluated by the University of Melbourne.
It is designed to share positive mental health strategies with the whole school community – teachers, students, parents and carers – to support the implementation of a wellbeing curriculum to build resilience, happiness, and drive sustainable change.
The emotionally engaging programmes deliver a combination of presentations, student curriculum, teacher resources, digital content, and ongoing support from The Resilience Project Education team.
The curriculum is evidence-based and mapped to the New Zealand Curriculum Framework: focussing on Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM) and Emotional Literacy.
The Resilience Project works with parents and carers in the school community because wellbeing is relevant to them too. Equally important, as the program is implemented in the classroom, students will naturally take it home, ask questions and spark conversation.
A series of parent and carer presentations (videos 5-10 minutes long) have been developed that are designed to equip parents with experience and answers. We also provide parents and carers with strategies for their own mental health.
The following resources to support this:
A dedicated Parents and Carer Hub-hosted on The Resilience Project website that can be accessed at any time (via a secure link, no login required). This includes parent presentations (videos), links to research and additional resources, and – wellbeing activities to complete. Parent and Carer Hub – The Resilience Project.
TRP @ Home shared with families (theresilienceproject.com.au)
