FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear HNHS families,

Firstly, can I thank all of the new parents who came along to our first Parent Teacher Association meeting last Tuesday night.  It was great to welcome some new faces to the group.  Our school is certainly fortunate to have parents who are willing to volunteer their time to support the school.  Whether it is serving on the PTA or simply driving students to and from a sports match, our school would simply not function the way it does without your help.

I hope students have recovered from a fantastic day around the pool last Friday and my congratulations to Kauri house who emerged victorious at the end of the day.  A well-deserved win and as always, the final result was as dependent on participation as it was on the results of the competitive races.  For me, the result that matters most is that close to 1000 students had a fantastic day around the pool, getting involved, supporting each other and demonstrating school spirit.

PTA EVENTS - QUIZ & BIG DIG

Hopefully, you will have seen the posters and billboards around the village advertising the first PTA event which I mentioned in a previous email.  The quiz night is always a lot of fun and as usual there is a fantastic array of prizes and items up for auction on the night.  Proceeds from this year’s event will be used to support the construction of an outdoor volleyball court for our students to use at break times and during physical education.​​​​​​​

The second PTA event is the annual ‘Big Dig’ where we invite parents, caregivers and students to come along for a few hours of gardening.  The impact we have made on the school campus through these events over the last few years has been remarkable.  I have included a before and after photo of the area we tackled last year as evidence of what a bit of community spirit can do.  This year’s event takes place on Sunday 29th March starting at 9.00am.   I look forward to providing more detail in the weeks to come but ask that anyone prepared to offer a few hours of their time adds this to the family calendar.  Junior students can also use this to complete the community service component of their diploma.

The second PTA event is the annual ‘Big Dig’ where we invite parents, caregivers and students to come along for a few hours of gardening.  The impact we have made on the school campus through these events over the last few years has been remarkable.  I have included a before and after photo of the area we tackled last year as evidence of what a bit of community spirit can do.  This year’s event takes place on Sunday 29th March starting at 9.00am.   I look forward to providing more detail in the weeks to come but ask that anyone prepared to offer a few hours of their time adds this to the family calendar.  Junior students can also use this to complete the community service component of their diploma.

EARLY FINISHES - PARENT/TEACHER EVENINGS

We have three parent-teacher consultation evenings this term and two of these require an early closure of the school to accommodate the 2.30pm start time.  The first takes place this Thursday (Year 9 & 10) and the second is on Tuesday, 17th March (Year 12 & 13).  On both days school finishes at the end of period 4 (1.05pm).   Our Year 11 evening (Wednesday, 11th March) starts at 4.30pm so school finishes at the normal time on that day. 

School also finishes early on Tuesday, 31st March to allow us time to set up for the annual Open Evening.  All Year 12 and 13 students are expected to help as guides on the night and a large number of junior students will be helping departments with their presentations around the school.

If there are any issues with students being dismissed early please contact the school office.  We always have the capacity to accommodate students in the school library.  This includes bus students as the school buses will continue to operate at the normal times.


WEEKEND COMPETITION

There is nothing like finishing a busy week with an equally busy weekend and it has been a pleasure to be able to watch our canoe polo players and debaters competing over the last two days.  The senior girls canoe polo team followed up their win at the Art Deco tournament last weekend by reigning victorious in the pool once again in the Central East Secondary School Regional Qualifiers on Saturday.  Across town our debaters competed at the regional competition and the team of Stuart Agnew, Luka Kennel and Renee Landon placed second after two days of fierce competition and a tough final debate negating the moot ‘It is in Europe's interest to give Greenland to the United States of America.’  Congratulations to all of the students involved in these competitions and the many other activities that have taken place over the weekend.

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Ngā manaakitanga,


Joel Wilton

Principal

KEY DATES

  • Monday, 2nd March – Year 9 and 10 Interim Reports emailed home
  • Thursday, 5th March – Year 9 and 10 Parent Consultation Evening (school closes at 1.00pm, consultations run from 2.00 - 6.30pm). Booking information will be emailed to families closer to the time.
  • Friday, 6th - Sunday 8th March – Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition (Whirinaki Forest)
  • Monday, 9th March – Jnr Boys Futsal Challenge Cup
  • Wednesday, 11th March – Snr Boys Futsal Challenge Cup
  • Wednesday, 11th March – Year 11 Parent Consultation Evening (school finishes at the normal time)
  • Friday, 13th March – Inter-house Athletic Sports (all students attend)
  • Saturday, 14th March – PTA Quiz Night (email pta.hnhs@gmail.com for tickets)
  • Tuesday, 17th March – Year 12 and 13 Parent Consultation Evening (school closes at 1.00pm, consultations run from 2.00 - 6.30pm)
  • Saturday, 21st - Friday 27th March – Summer Tournament Week
  • Thursday, 26th March – NCEA Information Evening (school auditorium - all parents and whānau welcome to attend)
  • Tuesday, 31st March – 2026 Open Evening (school closes at 1.00pm - evening starts at 6.00pm in the school gymnasium. All Year 12 and 13 students required to attend)
  • Thursday, 2nd April – Last day of term