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Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication17 October 2025 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGEKia ora e ngā whānau, We have had a great start to Term 4. It was wonderful to see many of our families at our Individual Educational Meetings this week. Important Notice The Minister of Education announced yesterday that the new full draft curriculum will be shared on Tuesday, 28th October. With this in mind, we have decided to shift our Staff Only day from Friday, October 24th, to Friday, November 7th. This is a Ministry of Education staff-only day dedicated to implementing the new curriculum for 2026. Ngā mihi Kirsty Dowding Tumuaki Principal
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INSPIRE - DANCE SHOWCASEWe had a wonderful Dance Showcase this year, highlighting the creativity and talent of our dance community. The NCEA dancers were joined by KO, Korean Fan Dance group and our Dance Film group, showcasing pieces from a wide range of styles and perspectives. Student-choreographed dances featured prominently and were the highlight of the evening. Both performers and audience had a wonderful night and we look forward to organising this event again for 2026.
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CONNECTEDNESS - MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEKThe Theme for this year's National Mental Health Week is "Top up your mental health." Led by the Te Ara Manaaki - Guidance staff at HPSS, both staff and students hosted various events throughout the week to provide opportunities for students to connect, get active, and have fun, thereby topping up their mental health. Tuesday: The sports council distributed sports equipment and hosted games of basketball, table tennis, badminton, and other sports for the students to be active. Wednesday: The Peer Mediators held a fun picnic outside, providing games and ways to connect. Thursday: The students focused on being thankful and made a wall of gratitude notes. Friday: There was a concert where we came together to watch our performance students. The event featured both musical and dance performances, including our K-pop group, K.O.
Students reported that they loved the variety of activities and the different ways to add some positivity to their week. More videos and content are available on the Te Ara Manaaki Instagram page. Jess C In Week 1 of Term 4, our amazing musicians performed in our Mental Health Awareness Week Friday lunchtime concert. It is a well known fact that participation in the arts is a great way to create a better life balance, and it contributes significantly to improved mental health. I was very proud of these students who performed for a very large crowd in the cafeteria - they worked as a team to set up and pack up the gear, and to get the space ready to be filled with music. For some of them it was the first time they performed to an audience and they showed fantastic resilience despite being very anxious about it. The performers were: Ezra Usmani - solo Luke Liu, Nic Chiang, CJ Dela-Cruz, and Alex Liu - band Jayke Lisowski, Livi Oswald, Aliyah Malcolm, Kaleb Pope, and our amazing maths teacher Rāwiri Waters - band Evan Qian - sound
A huge thanks and massive respect to these students for stepping up and out of their comfort zones - KA RAWE! Jeni
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SPORTING EXCELLENCE AND REMINDERSYuto Ikeda We're proud to announce that HPSS Year 9 student Yuto Ikeda has been selected for the New Zealand U15 Baseball Team; a huge congratulations to him! Sports Photos Sports photos are next week for all winter and some junior teams. Please: Check the schedule on our sports instagram or on the student pānui Remember to wear sports shoes/trainers If you haven't yet returned your uniform, please do so urgently If your season is still going, make sure to bring your uniform on your photo day
Recognition of Service to Sport Our Prem Netball coach, Nat Pati, last night won the Pat Heron Award at the Don Oliver Youth Sports Foundation Awards dinner. This prestigious award recognises an exceptional supporter of West Auckland youth sport and we can’t think of anyone more deserving than Nat!
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ENGAGE - DIWALI LEARNLETICSDiwali, also known as the festival of lights, is a week-long celebration which we celebrated in our school this past week for the third time ever with various different activities available. We started off the week with a Diwali themed learnletics, where hubs learnt about the celebration and played games and answered questions. We also had henna available for students along with a Bollywood movie and Indian snacks. On Friday, we celebrated with food while students were encouraged to wear south asian/ desi clothing to school. This celebration means so much to lots of people and it was amazing to see so many students getting involved, enjoying, and learning about this celebration. Nikita Naidu, Yr 12
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CONNECTEDNESS - INTERNSHIP WORKSHOPEarlier this week, the Pathways team brought together 150 year 11–12 students for an Internship Workshop, the first step in their application towards joining our 2026 Internship Programme (which takes place every Wednesday of the school year).
The workshop was designed to help students understand why internships are such a valuable experience, offering that X-factor and a competitive edge in an increasingly challenging market for young people. We explored how internships can build real-world skills and experience and develop professional networks; strengthen applications for university scholarships, apprenticeships, or employment; and support more confident career decision-making and transitions beyond secondary school.
Students heard from three inspiring guest speakers: a current HPSS intern, Stella Sherriff an HPSS alumni intern, and Harsheeta Nandani from Talent Solutions - Early Talent Specialists who specialises in the graduate and early careers space; all who shared authentic insights into what makes an internship meaningful and how it can help shape future pathways.
We’re incredibly proud of the engagement, curiosity, and enthusiasm shown by our students and we look forward to supporting those who secure an internship next year!
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INQUIRY - Q3 BIOLOGY TRIPEarlier this week, Year 13 Biology students visited Auckland Zoo. This was a great opportunity to review their learning for the upcoming exams, with the Auckland Zoo educators helping them to see concepts around Speciation and Evolution through plant and animal examples at the Zoo. Students enjoyed the experience, despite some rain, and being able to see real-life scenarios of evolutionary processes helped to consolidate their understanding and give them confidence for their exam revision.
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COLLABORATION - COMMUNITY ULTIMATE FRISBEEThis week we had the first week of the inter-community Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. It proved to be a spectacular display of athleticism, teamwork, and community spirit! Students from all four communities battled it out on the courts with impressive throws, layouts, and strategic plays. It was a wonderful showcase of community engagement and sportsmanship! The final is next week and the community shield is down to the wire! At this point of the time every community point counts!
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KEY DATES 2025Term 4 - Monday 6 October - Friday 12 December 23 October - PPTA Nationwide Strike (all year levels) Public Holiday: Labour Day – Monday 27 October 28 October - Year 13 Final Day, Graduation & Prize Giving 5.00pm 29 October - Year 12 Final Day & Prize Giving 12.30pm 30 October - Sports Prize Giving 6.00pm 4 November - NCEA Exams begin 7 November - Staff Only Day 21 November - Year 11 Final Day & Prize Giving 12.30pm 28 November - NCEA Exams end 3 & 4 December - 2.00pm - 7.30pm IEMs for Year 9 & Year 10 students 5 December - Year 9 Prize Giving 12.30pm & Year 10 Prize Giving 11am 8-11 December - EOTC Week for Year 9 & Year 10 12 December - Staff Call Back Day
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