My personal congratulations to Nga Peka Hou for their fine performance at ASB Polyfest. I was able to watch them before departing to Principals’ Conference. I always feel so proud when they take the stage and give such a professional performance—their skills, discipline, enthusiasm and dedication were impressive. A strong spirit is so evident in this group. My special thanks to teachers, tutors, parents and other supporters who have given freely of their time to make such a difference.

Japanese Visitors - this week we welcomed Mr Ishimoto, principal of Ohtani High School, Osaka. He was accompanied by Ms Kitamura from their international department. They came to view our school and to meet up with our student, Ayaka Osaki (yr 12) who is here for the year. Ohtani is a top school and we always enjoy having their students with us.

Progress reports were mailed home on Thursday, for all students. Parents are encouraged to come to the Parent Teacher evenings early next term, on either Thursday 29th April or Tuesday 4th May.

Next term— shoes and socks to be worn - black leather dress shoes with regulation socks (boys) and white socks or black pantyhose for girls. No black socks or track / sand shoes of any kind.

School jackets and jumpers only to be worn - all garments are available at Yarntons or try our secondhand uniform shop at school.

Last Wednesday was the big day for Birkenhead College’s Kapa Haka group: Nga Peka Hou. After many training sessions, the group performed at the ASB Polyfest and attained excellent results! Nga Peka Hou came 2nd for Choral, 2nd for Mau Rakau and 2nd for Kaitiaki Wahine. Our leaders this year were Rangipo Munroe and Joanne Perepe-Perana.

A breakdown of Nga Peka Hou’s performance:
The Choral tells the story of creation. It tells of how the world came to exist. The Entry is a poignant piece about the beauty of the sun and the idea of a new beginning. The Moteatea leads us through the various stages of academic and social development from Kohanga to primary, to secondary school. It speaks of how we are like seeds that develop into strong ferns. The Poi song beautifully retells the story of Maui.
The Haka pushes us to respect our bodies. It forces us to consider the negative effects of drugs and alcohol. Throughout the haka we are inspired to strive for physical and emotional strength and health.

The following PSG meetings are scheduled for this year. All meetings are held at Birkenhead College, in the staffroom, at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated:

· April 20th— Annual General Meeting
· May 18th
· June 15th
· June 25th—Trivial Pursuits night
· August 17th
· November 2nd
· December 6th—end of year party.

2010 NZQA ASSESSMENT CALENDARS, LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2 & LEVEL 3

to Mr Kingston on the birth of your baby daughter, Scarlet.
Way to go!!

All parents and ex students, the Drama Department needs help with constructing shelving and building the set over the next two months. Please contact Mr Willis if you can assist. Thanks in advance!

These will be on sale from the Music Department. Watch the Newsletter for more information

International Barbershop coaches, Denise Weatherbee and Brian Lee, worked with 36 students in a workshop last Wednesday afternoon. The coaches brought a fresh and interesting approach to learning Barbershop songs, beginning with some drama exercises on expressing emotion, and then helping the girls and boys choruses with their competition repertoire. The afternoon ended with an impromptu performance in the theatre by both groups.

Our first Concert Band fundraiser of the year is a movie at the Bridgeway. It’s an advance screening of ‘Nowhere Boy’ at 6pm on Monday 29th March.
Tickets are $15 each and we’d love to see you all there.

‘Nowhere Boy’ is John Lennon’s story

from Nga Peka Hou to Annette Whetu — Tutor — Chelcie- Ann Haupapa, Gaynor Pratt, Willy Howell, and Tina Munroe for the uniforms; Joseph Reihana—boys haka; Whaea Smith, Whaea McKenzie, Whaea Carmichael
and all the parents for their time and dedication.

Please send your nominations in, closing date 23 April 2010.
Election date 7 May 2010.

Earth Hour 2010 is fast approaching at 8.20pm Saturday 27 March when millions of people across the globe will switch off their lights for one hour to
send the message that by acting together to fight climate change we can make a difference.

On Saturday, 13 March, three Year 13 students: Alyssa Ellwood, Declan Rhodes and myself (Summer Withers), went to the Auckland Schools’ Debating Development Tournament to debate against other schools from the area.

We arrived at the crack of dawn (8 am) and found ourselves amidst seasoned debaters. While other schools were more competitive, we were there to have our first debating experience. Having only been a team for a week, we had a lot to learn. It was a Round- Robin competition, with four debates scheduled for the first day. Although the teams were all much better than us, we won our last debate, which was encouraging
and made us feel we were making good progress. We did not make it into the quarter finals, which was disappointing but the good thing about that was that we did not have to return ridiculously early on Day 2, for the semi-finals and finals!

We are now looking forward to sharpening our skills for future debates. Thanks to Mrs Macadam for entering our team in the Russell McVeagh Tournament and for recommencing the Birkenhead College Debating Society.

Summer Withers, Year 13

All Black great, Jeff Wilson, led a specialist coaching session at BC on Wednesday for our rugby players. Jeff was assisted by 3 North Harbour rugby officials and the BC coaching staff. This was a rare opportunity to receive coaching advice and listen to one of New Zealand’s most talented sportsmen ever.

Times running out - entries close March 31st at 5pm - for students to win this amazing opportunity for a trip aboard the Spirit of New Zealand. With 30 berths up for grabs, you have a good chance of winning!

If you are aged between 15 and 18, all you have to do is write a 300 word essay entitled ‘One big idea that will make our community a better place to live in’. It could be as simple as a market day to encourage travellers to stop in at your town and sample the local arts and food, or maybe you think a mentoring programme should be introduced to help local teens to achieve their goals - there are thousands of ideas out there but nobody knows what your community needs as well as you do.

You can post your entries to GAS headquarters at PO Box 37653, Parnell, Auckland or you can click on the ‘enter here’ button on Phil’s Challenge website www.gasolinealley.co.nz/bigidea/

9 Ponderosa Drive, Browns Bay
Learn the skills to become a safer driver. Reduce the time on your Restricted Licence by 6 months.

Details and dates for the next course are:
Monday 5 April, Wednesday 7 April, Monday 12 April, Wednesday 14 April 6.00—8.00 pm

If you wish to attend or require information please phone 476 3603 or 027 494 5794

Do all your shopping at home at www.yourfastshop.co.nz and spend more time relaxing!

Over 90 online stores and all shopping raises money for Birkenhead College.

· Books from online bookstores. The Nile & Fishpond.
· DVDs from Real Groovy.
· iPODs, phones, laptops and more from Noel Leeming and Bond & Bond.
· Toys from IQ Toys and Mighty Ape.
· Gifts from Bestow Gifts.
· Groceries from Woolworths Online and lots, lots more!

Just go to www.yourfastshop.co.nz and select Birkenhead College for great discounts and online

At Lake House Arts Centre, 37 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna.
www.lakehousearts.org.nz or ph 486 4877

Sculpture Spectacular! - celebrating all things sculptural.
6—16 April. Choose from a variety of classes such as clay ceramics, paper sculpture, tin-can robots, mosaics, spiral drawing, woodcut printing, trinket boxes, spaceships and more … At Lake House Arts Centre.

Sculpture Festival 2010
12—18 April — Live wood carving, workshops. Have a go / Market Day on Sunday 18 April with Art Stalls, demonstrations, have-a-go sessions. Fun for the whole family. Free entry. At Lake House Arts Centre.

EARLY REVIEW is most efficient, most productive.
A. Before you attempt to learn new material in class or through reading:
* Glance over previous chapters or notes.
* Run through your mind what you know already.
Since memorisation of new material is most effective when it is associated with the material already known, this process brings all available mental “hooks” to the surface.

B. Immediately after learning:
* Rework your notes, adding material that comes to mind. (Don’t recopy; this is wasteful).
* Order and organise what was learned (Star, use arrows, additional comments, etc).
* Integrate new material with what you already know.
Forgetting is most rapid right after learning. Review helps combat this. Relearning is easier if it is done quickly. Don’t wait until it’s all gone.

It was Mrs Jones who brought the fruit, and not Mrs Harding. Thank you Mrs Jones.

The information given is printed as a service to parents. The school neither endorses nor recommends any offers or proposals made.