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Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication8 August 2025 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGEKia ora e ngā whānau, We are at the time in the term when we are having winter sports finals. I watched our junior boys' premier basketball team play in the final against Kristin School yesterday. I was extremely proud of how this team worked together and showed grit. As the coach of Kristin's team stated, HPSS nearly made the comeback of the season. The learning this team will take away from this game and their winning attitude will set them up nicely for the future. Next week we have two Netball finals on Tuesday, the Senior A Netball team and our Premier 1 team at the Te Pai courts; Senior A is playing at 5 pm on court 8, and Prem 1 is playing inside at 6 pm on court 2. It would be great to have the community support our teams. The Minister of Education made a significant announcement about the future direction of our national qualification, NCEA. Consultation on the proposal has opened, and over the coming weeks, schools and communities will have the opportunity to provide feedback and input on the final shape of this proposal. Your feedback as parents of students undertaking NCEA is valuable, and we encourage you to consider the documents linked below. The proposal's timeline means there will be no changes for current students in Years 9-13. Under this proposal, students in Year 8 would be the first group to undertake the new Foundational Award in Year 11 (in 2028). As a school, we are well placed to implement the new changes, and had planned on making changes in 2026, including ensuring students take five subjects in Year 13, having a strong focus on numeracy and literacy from Year 9 - 11 and creating a culture where examination is seen as another way of learning. It is an opportunity to build resilience and prepare for university and the workforce. We are committed to delivering quality teaching and learning programmes and supporting all our students' thrive. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. The following could be useful to whānau looking to understand the proposed changes: HPSS Community Consultation Our school is beginning work on our next strategic plan for 2026-2028. As part of this process, we’d love to hear from our whānau and community on what is going well for our school and what areas we can focus on in our strategic planning. To gather feedback, we have organised an online survey which you can take here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hobsonvilleparents The survey should take 10 minutes to complete, depending on the level of detail you provide, and you do not need to answer every question. The survey will be open until 22 August. We also have surveys we are sending to staff and our students to gather their feedback as part of this process. Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to your feedback. Ngā mihi Kirsty Dowding Tumuaki Principal
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REMINDER - INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION MEETINGS AND TEACHER ONLY DAYIndividual Education Meetings (IEMs) for all students will be held next week, Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 August. These student-led meetings are a key part of how we partner with whānau to support learning. School will only be open for IEM appointments on these days, with learning from home available. Further details can be found here. Bookings for IEMs are still open via the SchoolBridge app or login.bridge.school.nz. We also want to remind whānau that there is a Teacher Only Day scheduled for Monday, 25 August (Week 7).
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CONNECTEDNESS - COURSE SELECTIONOn Tuesday 29 July, HPSS hosted more than 200 students and their whānau for the Q2 and Q3 Course Information Evening. It was a pleasure to see our students engaging with our Learning Area Leads and staff to learn more about the many senior courses we offer and where they can take you. We remind our Q1 and Q2 students and their caregivers that course selections are due this evening. Course selection is completed via the Schoolbridge Student Portal. Information about the courses, including videos from our staff, are also viewable on Schoolbridge under ‘Course Selection’.
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INNOVATION - EPRO8 COMPETITIONThis Wednesday two teams from HPSS went to the EPro8 North and West Auckland Regionals competition, winning second and sixth place. EPro8 is an engineering competition where students use the same set of parts to compete in meeting certain challenges within 3 hours. They have been preparing all year as part of their Project class. This year, students could make an autonomous barrier arm as if for a carpark, a motorised shopping cart, a smart Foosball table, or a laser tag game. It was a challenging and stressful few hours, and our teams did very well, especially considering this is the first year HPSS has competed. The team that placed second now has the opportunity to go on to the semifinals in just a few weeks.
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INFORMATION - PROGRESS REPORTS AND NCEA SUMMARYThis afternoon, caregivers of Year 9-13 students should receive a Progress Report. These, sent in Week 4 each term, measure performance against Learning Dispositions (Habits and Thinking). They should provide whānau and coaches with early warning information and give students an opportunity for reflection and goal setting in Individual Education Meetings next week. The Learning Objective reports, measuring progress against curriculum levels, are sent on the final day of each term. In addition to the Progress Reports, this evening caregivers of Year 12 and Year 13 students will also receive a NCEA Summary Report. This summary provides a snapshot of your child’s NCEA Achievement to date, and should include the results for Internal Assessments completed in Terms 1 - 2. A further updated NCEA Summary will be sent in Week 1 of Term 4 which will also show achievement in the upcoming mock exams (Weeks 9-10 this term). Parents can also track their students’ NCEA achievement through the Schoolbridge app and Parent Portal.
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INTER-COMMUNITY SPORTSFor the last two weeks our school has had a community volleyball competition. It was amazing to see so many people supporting these students in the gym. Our students were very vocal in their community spirit, with our foundation students cheering on their community’s qualification students, and vice versa. In the end the mighty Onekiritea took gold for the Foundation competition and Tāhere Tikitiki brought it home for the Qualifications. But at the end of the day what was the most important thing to take from these two weeks was the strong energy everyone brought for their community whether it was competing or cheering from the sideline! Rizq Clarke, Yr 13
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INNOVATION - AQUABOTS COMPETITIONLast Saturday two teams from HPSS went to the West Auckland Aquabots Regionals competition, walking away with first and third place for secondary school teams. Aquabots is an international robotics competition where students design and build an underwater robot capable of completing delicate tasks underwater. They have been preparing all year as part of their Project class. Our teams were inspired by sharks and droplets, using our 3D printers and the provided electronics to develop robots that minimise drag. On the day, students had to navigate an underwater obstacle course, retrieve various trapped objects and bring them back to the surface search-and-rescue style, manipulate a complex lock as if to free trapped debris, and present on their design process and inspiration. Both teams have qualified to move on to the National finals in November, held this year in Lower Hutt.
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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE - SPELLING BEE SUCCESS! Over the past week, HPSS has been buzzing with spelling action as we held our annual Spelling Bee. It began with an open 50-word written test, part of the national NZ Spelling Bee competition. Fourteen of our top Year 9 and 10 scorers had their papers sent to Wellington, and we’re now waiting to hear how many will make it through to the regional semifinals. From the first round, each community had four finalists to compete in Wednesday’s semi-final, which included both written and spoken rounds. After three intense tie-breaker rounds and some seriously tricky words (denouement, acquiesce, paediatrician), the final five were confirmed. We held our grand final on Thursday and were thrilled to crown this year’s HPSS Spelling Champion: Daniel Wang, Year 10, Onekiritea! Congratulations to all who took part and won points for their community; the standard was impressively high. A big thank you to Yolanda and Ros for organising such a fantastic competition and to Aidan for marking all 122 entries! Portia Cliffin, Year 13, Last year's spelling bee champion
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SPORTING SPOTLIGHT - BASKETBALL2025 has been a fantastic year for basketball at HPSS with all our teams excelling in their respective competitions. The HPSS Junior Premier Boys basketball team, led by captain Gian, competed in the Junior Boys League 1B Finals on Thursday. Despite a tough start and having never played together as a team until this season, they showed determination and resilience, narrowing the gap in the final stages of the game. Ultimately, they fell slightly short, but their strong finish reflected the hard work they’ve put into training as well as adjusting as a new team. Special thanks to their Coach Mic and assisting them, Nash for their support and guidance throughout the season. Well done, team! In addition, the 17As had a strong win against Rangitoto 17A last week to make the playoff for 5th place at Westlake Boys old gym last night. Thank you to all the staff, coaches and whānau that have supported the basketball teams throughout the season. Thank you also to Ace and Oasis for being our sport photographers! Mic Watts
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UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND WAIPAPA ŌHANGA RAU VISITOn Wednesday, 7 August, three of our Year 11 Māori students participated in an enriching visit to the University of Auckland’s Waipapa Ōhanga Rau. This initiative was thoughtfully designed to inspire and empower tauira by providing a meaningful insight into the academic and cultural opportunities available at Waipapa Taumata Rau. Throughout the day, our students engaged with peers from a range of secondary schools across Auckland, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. Guided by Māori student ambassadors from the University, they explored campus facilities and gained an understanding of university life. A particular highlight of the visit was the opportunity to take part in a pōwhiri and spend time within the marae - an experience that provided both cultural connection and a profound sense of belonging. Audrina Marsters-Singh, Year 11
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SPORTING EXCELLENCECongratulations to Igor Russanov for his outstanding success in the New Zealand Secondary School Swimming Champs on 24-27 July. Igor collected a host of medals, including: Gold in the 50m Breaststroke Silver in the 100m Freestyle Bronze in the 200m Freestyle, and Fourth in the 50m Freestyle
Good luck Igor for the upcoming World Swimming Champs later this term!
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INTERNSHIP STORIES - JANILLE AT ePATHWAYSePathways is a consultancy firm that supports individuals who want to study, work, or settle in New Zealand and Australia. They provide end-to-end services, including education and visa consultancy, employment assistance, and settlement support. My internship at ePathways has been such a valuable learning experience. A typical day includes a mix of admin and finance tasks that have helped me build real-world skills. For admin, I helped sort through 3,000+ enquiries from people who messaged ePathways through their website, Instagram, and Facebook after a webinar earlier this year. In finance, I helped encode receipts into spreadsheets to support expense tracking and cost analysis. I also got to learn how to use Xero and was shown how to send an invoice, giving me the opportunity to apply my accounting skills in real-life. The team also introduced me to ClickUp and explained how they use it to manage tasks and stay organised. What I appreciate most is that my internship doesn’t focus on giving me lots of tasks but rather on teaching me how the business works and allowing me to learn from it. The whole team is super supportive and welcoming, and they always take the time to explain things to me. This internship has helped me build confidence, improved my attention to detail, and has helped me see that I might pursue a career in accounting in the future. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in a real-world setting. Special thanks to Ate Nova who became my mentor for this internship for the past few months. Janille Suarin
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SPORTS SPOTLIGHT - RUGBY LEAGUEIt was a season to remember for the Under 15 Boys League team, who showed incredible teamwork and determination throughout the competition. From the first whistle to the last, the boys played with heart and passion, demonstrating great sportsmanship both on and off the field. The team's success was built on a solid defence and an electrifying offence. They consistently worked together to create scoring opportunities, and their unwavering commitment to each other was a pleasure to watch. We're all incredibly proud of the boys' development this year and can't wait to see what they accomplish next season!
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SPORTS SPOTLIGHT - CROSSFITYear 12 student Sam Howlett recently took on the challenge of competing in a CrossFit event, marking a big shift from her primary sport of weightlifting. While weightlifting emphasises strength and technique, CrossFit incorporates high-intensity, cardio-based workouts, presenting a new and demanding experience for Sam. Despite being unfamiliar with the sport, Sam approached the challenge with determination and found it to be both rewarding and enjoyable. Sam was well-supported throughout the event by her dedicated coaches, and her team, Madi and Anya. Congratulations, Sam, on your impressive efforts and willingness to step outside your comfort zone.
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KEY DATES 2025Term 3 - Monday 14 July - Friday 19 September 12-13 August - Individual Education Meetings - Further details can be found here. Bookings are now open via the SchoolBridge app or login.bridge.school.nz. No timetables classes on these days. Email ros.britton@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz if your child needs supervision at school. 25 August - Staff Only Day. 10- 17 Sept - Mock Exam Week for Year 11-13.
Term 4 - Monday 6 October - Friday 12 December 24 October - Staff Only Day Public Holidays: Labour Day – Monday 27 October 12 December - Staff Only Day
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