Dear Parents,

Welcome to new students and celebration of growth Welcome to all our Year 9 students and families! As teachers we have really enjoyed getting to know our new students and are confident that 2020 is going to be an excellent year of learning for all. MCS high school has its own unique flavour. We concentrate on four key things. Firstly, we are a school that is actively challenging our students with the gospel and the Christian faith. It is not enough for us to share the good news that Jesus provides salvation, but we aim to show how Christianity impacts our mind and thus our whole way of life. We care about discipleship. Secondly we are unashamedly focussed on academic excellence in the traditional disciplines. We expect every student to do their best to develop competence in written and oral communication and numeracy. We aim to provide our students with a solid knowledge base, which is why we offer Cambridge qualifications rather than NCEA. By providing a knowledge rich education, we are providing the key stone for our students in the development of critical thinking skills. Thirdly, we are passionate about our school being a place that helps develop character. We will challenge our students to develop virtuous character. When they break rules, or show poor attitude, we will pull them up for it and challenge them to do what is right. Finally, we aim to be a place where students relate well to each other and their teachers. We aim for a warm and friendly atmosphere. We hope you’ve noticed! 2020 has brought some exciting new developments in the high school. We welcome two new teachers to our excellent team. Mr Aloiai has taken over the Bible courses from Mr K and is developing a new component called exegesis (interpreting the biblical text). In addition, he has been tasked with introducing a new subject called Western Civilization and Culture. Mrs Maney has taken over from Mr Boyd, and is teaching our English courses as well as our Economics course. This is the first year where we have been unable to take outside enrolments into the high school due to roll constraints. If you know anyone who is hoping to gain entry to the high school, please advise them of the importance of enrolling their child into the primary school as soon as possible.

High School Update

March 2020

p:269-1050 e:admin@manukauchristian.school.nz

Enrique and Brayan—high school students

on the first day of term.

Ideas gradually percolate their way into society. What starts as musings in the ivory towers of academia eventually outworks itself in mainstream culture. Marx, Engels, Darwin and others died many years ago, but it can be argued that they rule the world from their graves as their ideas have taken root within society. Influential ideas subtly creep their way into our thinking without announcing their arrival with an ID card or a badge. They become the invisible lenses through which we see the world rather than objects of our scrutiny. We look through them rather than at them. To change the analogy, they become the cultural waters in which we swim. If you want to know what water is like don’t ask a fish. The fish is so acclimatised to water it could not describe it because it knows nothing else (and because a fish has a brain the size of a… well…. a fish!) Big ideas such as secularism, humanism, scientism, Marxism, materialism and postmodernism are like the invisible water in which we swim, or the transparent lenses through which we see the world. They subconsciously distort our perception and gradually, perhaps imperceptibly filter our view of reality. That is, unless we are intentional about developing biblical lenses. MCS is intentional about teaching all classes and subjects from a biblical worldview. This is why we have a worldview component within our high school Bible programme – to identify and unpack those unquestioned assumptions that our culture ‘swims in’ without recognising. This is also why Mr Aloiai is now teaching a brand-new Western Civilisation course. This course studies the philosophies that underpin western civilisations and contrasts these with various other philosophies. If we study the invisible assumptions about life we make them visible. Once visible, we can more clearly understand the reasons why people hold the values they do and arrive at their ethical positions. Studying the elements of a biblical worldview enables us to consciously choose to think biblically, bringing our minds into submission to God’s Word. I so wish I had been able to attend Manukau Christian School as a teenager. The discipleship and formational opportunities afforded here are, in my assessment, of a very high quality.

Pete Slaney

Worldview and Teens

This experience has made each of us appreciate God’s creation so much more. We had the chance to see many stunning and fascinating things that God has created including cicada shells, glow worms, and nature in general. After a hot day, we were treated to a swim in a freezing stream.

The highlight of this tramp, for me, was getting to know my classmates more and building relationships with them through games, music, and, for some, horseplay... We all thoroughly enjoyed this module and have learnt so much about God, the world, and ourselves because of it.

Jessica Goodwin In week 5 we went on a tramp to Waitawheta. The walk to the hut was long but very beautiful on account of all the nature around us. It was a long and uncomfortable trip but it was worth it in the end because of the satisfying feeling we got when we actually reached the hut. Once we were there and settled in, we were told that we would be able to cool off in a nearby water hole. Most of the students got to enjoy a leisurely swim in the cold water after their exhausting walk. Once we returned to the hut we enjoyed some small games including Mafia and Empire. We 'enjoyed' some dinner and played a few more activities. We ended the first day by going to see some glow worms. The second day was just a long trek back to the start so we could head back home. Personal highlights from the tramp were the glow worms because of how many there were and how amazing they looked in the night. The ‘worst’ part of the tramp was the walk. It was uncomfortable but nowhere near terrible. I found the tramp to be a fantastic experience in general.

Brayan Wong

Waitawheta Hike

The West is the Best Over the past several millennia history has seen the rise and collapse of countless civilizations. As we survey history, for the most part, civilizations and societies have been universally marked by dire poverty and subsistence conditions wherein people have lived in constant threat of physical danger from both nature and human beings. For nearly all of human history, life has been nasty, brutish, and short. Be that as it may, things have drastically changed in the West, as one commentator observes:

In the West, babies can be expected to survive infancy and then live another eight decades; we live in an era in which the vast majority of the [New Zealand] population lives in climate-controlled spaces with plenty of food, a car, and at least one television. We can speak with each other across thousands of miles instantaneously, find and collate information with the touch of a few keys, send money seamlessly whirring around the globe, and buy products manufactured in dozens of different places for cents on the dollar without leaving our homes.

Then there are our freedoms. We can expect that a baby born in [New Zealand] will never be enslaved, murdered, or tortured; an adult in [New Zealand] can go about his or her daily business with the expectation that she will not be arrested for espousing an unpopular viewpoint or worshipping the wrong god or no god at all. There are no restrictions barring particular races or genders from particular jobs, no governmental rules designed to privilege one particular biological or religious in-group at the expense of any other out-group. We can live with whom we choose, have as many or as few children as we want, and open any business we see fit. We can expect to die richer than we were born.

It is clear that we do not live in a perfect world, however, we do live in perhaps the best world that has ever existed. The Western Civilization course explores why the West has surpassed all previous civilizations and how we can maintain its foundations and flourish further. We also consider a number of reasons why Western Civilization is flawed and how we might mitigate some of the ongoing issues.

New Western Civilization Course

Worldviews and Society One of the central learning goals in this course, is to help students see and understand how worldviews shape society. A worldview is an all-encompassing perspective on everything that exists and matters to us. Our worldview represents our most fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the universe we in-habit. It reflects how we would answer all the “big questions” of human existence, the fundamen-tal questions we ask about life, the universe, and everything.

Every individual and society functions within a particular philosophical view of the world. These worldviews function as the foundations upon which each society is built, either for better or for worse.

Missions Team Review New Western Civilization Course cntd

As we examine the history of the West and its astounding rise and success, we see time and time again, that the foundation of the West’s success has been its grounding in Biblical Christianity. Human rights, freedom, literature and art… Every facet of the West has been built and shaped by a predetermined commitment to the Scriptures. From British Common Law to the Scientific Revo-lution, Christianity laid the foundation and base required for the West to expand and flourish.

A Change in Foundations Unfortunately, over the past 60 to 80 years, the Christian worldview that laid at the foundation of the West has been supplanted. Christianity has been replaced with Secularism and we are now moving into a new age where Secularism is erecting its forms of family, law, education and socie-ty. The detrimental impact of Secularism is already being seen in a number of ways, from the LGBT revolution to the rise in Socialism. The West is dying and will die unless Christianity be-comes its foundation once again. Through this course, we want the students to have a philosophically rigorous worldview and an historically accurate understanding of how a civilization can flourish. With these skills, we believe that MCS students will be well equipped to engage the culture for the glory of Christ.

Ethan Aloiai

Left: An art piece that sold for $120,000 recently. Unfortu-natle someone pulled the banana off the wall and ate it. Fortunately another banana was purchased and stuck to the wall in its place. One of the questions that has been investi-gated in Western Civilization and Culture is the impact of worldview on Art.

This year, we have elected to have our Year 11 students sit their IGCSE Mathematics examinations in May. The pur-pose of the earlier exam date is to give students moving to senior mathematics more time to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed at AS level Mathematics. The exams are scheduled for Tuesday 5th May and Thurs-day 7th May.

IGCSE Mathematics Exams

Biology is the study of the living world, as created by the God of the Bible. Our knowledge of the origin of life comes from God alone, the source of all life. The beginning of life on Earth as accounted in the Scripture describes the order of appearance of various organisms. Mankind’s fall due to disobedience corrupted not just him but the entire biological world. While creation waits for its delivery from the bondage of corruption, we continue to awe at the workmanship of the Master Designer. When God said, “Let the waters abound…., let the earth yield…., let the land produce…. everything came into existence! But mankind was His most precious creation as He made them in His image.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

At MCS, we encourage our students to explore the living world through the biblical lens. The AS and A level Biology is a comprehensive course enabling our students to dig deeper into the micro details of life. When we look at the molecular level of organization and order that exists in living beings, it points to the Omniscience and Omnipotence of God. Beginning with microscopy and cell structure at the AS level, students explore the variety of biological molecules that make up the living forms, enzymes which carry out precise biochemical reactions and cell signaling in Term 1. During mid-year, students are taken through an exciting journey through the cell cycle and introduced to the genetic code. Topics like gas exchange and smoking, immune system and infectious diseases encourage students to discuss on their implications. The A level biology topics include photosynthesis, Homeostasis, Evolution and Genetic Technology which are advanced and contain extended learning outcomes which are built up on a solid AS level foundation. Why biology matters? It is our duty to study and understand the interrelationship that exists in the world around us, so that we can be faithful stewards of God’s creation as He has ordained.

Left: Plant cells under the microscope

Highlight Subject: AS and A Biology

Student Leader Report: Water-based Sport

On week 5 Friday, the whole school spent the afternoon playing competitive games in Manukau Christian School’s first ever house games. Initially, it was meant to be water sports, but because of the current drought, we had to cut back on the ‘water’ aspect of the sports. Regardless of this minor setback, the school had an enjoyable time doing relays, chant offs and wetting student leaders to get house points for their house. Each house commenced the afternoon by showing off their creative chants that they had come up with in their houses. Points were awarded for the originality, volume, teamwork and how well it related to what each house stands for: Calvin-Truth, Wilberforce-Justice, Te Wiremu- Commit-ment and Tarore- Forgiveness. After this, we had whole school relays that included skipping, piggy backing and wheel barrowing. In the final activity, students were awarded points for how many times they hit the leader of their house with wet sponges. Well done to Calvin house, who were the overall winners of the afternoon.

Talitha Sharma and Mae Savill

We would like to remind all parents of high school students that in 2021, our policy on textbooks for high school students will change. From this date, a number of our courses will re-quire students to purchase textbooks. The school will ensure we have the textbooks available, and students in these courses will be invoiced for these.

Textbook Policy

It has been a great pleasure to have drama module with Mrs Maney for the first half of the term. In order to make the most of the module and to make the play we are doing more interesting, we have been practicing different ways to present our lines. Examples of the techniques that we have learnt would be: voice projection, emphasizing certain phrases, as well as adding hand gestures and the way to set up the stage in order to create a clearer image for the audience. I believe that the concepts that we have learnt in this module are applicable to many areas of our lives. They have helped us gain confidence to speak in front of others. After going through the play once, we brainstormed ideas for how to make it less outdated. By allowing us to write portions of the play ourselves, Mrs Maney helped create a companionable atmosphere and make the play more relatable to our generation.

Iris Wong

Drama Module

This term for modules, the Year 12s and 13s prepared science experiments in order to explain to Year one to eight students some important scientific principles. We spent a couple of weeks searching the internet for ideas and testing them to make sure they worked. Our testing includ-ed a couple of mild mishaps such as egg-splosions, dye strained fingers and frights when a bal-loon popped when we weren’t expecting it. Then on Friday in week 6, we brought the junior classes to the science lab to show them what we had prepared. Our demonstrations included neutralisation reactions, popping balloons with orange peels, ele-phant toothpaste and making eggs appear silver. Using the experiments, we were able to ex-plain scientific principles such as soundwaves and tones, polymers, circuits, adhesion and cohe-sion in water and exothermic reactions. Most of the experiments went according to plan on the day and were met by excitement and laughter. The juniors were intrigued by the concepts and made sure to ask us lots of tricky questions.

Eshan Kumar and Rebekah Shallard

Science Demonstrations

• If your child has a query or concern about a subject, their first port of call is to talk to the teacher. All our teachers are professionals who love to hear from students who have trouble understanding a particular concept. This helps us improve our teaching, as we find out what is and isn’t working, and it also helps students, as they learn that they are responsible for learning and can take positive steps to improve their understanding.

• Some parents are unaware that they can access all assignments, test grades and

comments on our online gradebook. Login to your Thinkwave account and you can track the progress of your child in all subjects (www.thinkwave.com). Also, use Thinkwave to find out the dates for exams, tests and assignments. Remember, if a child is sick for an exam, a medical certificate must be provided.

Missions Team Review Reminders

In the first half of Term 1, the Year 10 students have been learning about the New Zealand government system. This involved looking at the Biblical principles behind the role of the Government in people's lives. We looked at how MPs and the Prime Minister are elected into office and how the parliament system is structured. We also had discussions on the ideologies behind the different political parties. This helps us have a better understanding of what shapes their policies and decisions.

In the Bible, God speaking through Jeremiah said, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

Our hope is that our students develop discernment so that they can make wise political decisions in the future and seek the welfare of New Zealand as good citizens for the glory of God.

Priscilla Dhinakar

Modules

The Cambridge external examination dates for the 2020 October/November are now available. Term dates for 2020 are:

Term 1: 30 Jan to 9 Apr 2020 Term 2: 28 April to 3 Jul 2020 Term 3: 20 July to 25 Sep 2020 Term 4: 7 Oct to 2 Dec 2020

Please note that 7 October is the second Wednesday of the primary school holidays. Senior students (Y11-13) will finish 27 November, while Year 9 & 10 students will have their final day on Wednesday 2 December. The Year 12 & 13 North Island trip is tentatively planned for 23-26

Missions Team Review Dates for 2020

Recently I have been reviewing Seven Myths About Education by Daisy Christodoulou, an educational thinker in the UK, who attempts to explode some of the common myths in the educational landscape of today. Myth one is “Facts Prevent Understanding”. For those of you who aren't involved in education, probably read something like this and think, "Who on earth would believe that?" A number of ’experts’ such as Rousseau, Dewey, and Freire argued for a receptive form of education and purport that depositing knowledge in the minds of children is a misguided system. So too, many in education today argue that teaching kids facts is a problem. Rather they argue that we need to be teaching understanding and a deeper level of thinking to children. And as is often the case, an element of this sounds plausible. We all know that knowledge is not enough. We don't want our children to be robots who can spit out random facts. Rather, we want them to be able to use their knowledge; to develop higher-order thinking. We would rank highly the ability to analyse and evaluate for instance. Christodolou points to research that highlights the fundamental importance of knowledge acquisition in education. Research into human thinking demonstrates the importance of long-term memory for cognition. The more information that a child has stored in their long term memory, the more they are able to overcome the difficulties of cognitive overload in their working memory. Simply put, the more facts a child has possession of, the easier it is for them to work with more complex problems. A classic case of this is learning the multiplication tables. A child who has not got these 'down pat' will struggle to perform division of mixed numbers. Too much of their working memory is being devoted to figuring out the particular times table they need so that there is not enough 'thinking space' left to convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions and then change the division sign to a multiplication sign and change the last fraction to its reciprocal. A child with the multiplication tables committed to long term memory is ready to deal with this new complexity. Creativity, problem-solving and ability to analyse and evaluate are skills that are reliant on large bodies of knowledge securely committed to memory. Dan Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia argues that the data from the last 30 years of research leads to the conclusion that thinking well requires knowing facts. He writes, "The very processes that teachers care about most - critical thinking processes such as reasoning and problem solving - are intimately intertwined with factual knowledge that is stored in long-term memory."

Do Facts Prevent Understanding?

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This research is a timely reminder to educators to keep the main thing the main thing. We need to pass on a solid body of knowledge to our children. This is foundational in the development of critical thinking. Knowledge is the tool our children need to think. That is why we at Manukau Christian School are committed to a traditional approach of developing a sound foundation of knowledge in our students. It is why we choose to use a knowledge based curriculum like Cambridge Assessment International Education over the New Zealand curriculum. And research supports our stance.

Missions Team Review Volleyball—Friday afternoon