Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication

16 August 2024

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Kia ora e ngā whānau,

It is hard to believe we are already in Week 4 of Term 3. Today, you will receive a progress report for your child. This is an excellent opportunity to talk at home with your child about their learning and progress.  

I watched the performance of the boys' football team in the semi-final on the weekend. This team showed resilience and outstanding teamwork to win in a penalty shoot-out. The team is in the final this weekend at home, and it would be great to have your support on the sideline on Saturday morning at 10am.  Also, our U19 Boys Basketball team won the Harbour 1B League last week. I could not be prouder of all our sporting teams and their achievements so far this year. 

We have our individual education meetings (IEMs) on Monday for our Year 9 and 10 students. To ensure our students continue to thrive, this partnership is greatly valued. Thank you to those families who have booked and we look forward to seeing you.

Ngā mihi

Kirsty Dowding

Tumuaki Principal

EXCELLENCE - ENGINEERING SCIENCE COMPETITION

The Engineering Science Competition is a day-long problem solving competition for teams of 3–4 students, organised by the University of Auckland Department of Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineering. Students use their skills in mathematics, physics, computing, logical thinking and writing to answer a problem revealed on the morning of the competition. The problems are always open-ended and open to interpretation. Students must justify the conclusion they make in terms of relevant physics, mathematics and economics.

This year, four teams of students from HPSS competed on competition day to produce a report that answers the question: "How many airships are required to replace the Cook Strait ferries?" They spent 8 hours fuelled by snacks and coffee producing an 8-10 page report with as much mathematical modelling as they could fit. The reports are being judged right now, and our teams this year have a real shot at the prize!

The teams were:

Team 1022: Kasim Irfan, Tanish Tandon, Ali-Zain Noorani, Joo-Won Hong

Team 1216: Alison Long, Keith Lai, Alex Shang, Clarissa Suwandi

Team 1232: Yolanda Zhou-Wang, Megan Wiggill, Harper McIntyre, Tashvi Ardhanari

Team 1045: Aarav Sharma, George Sfakiotakis, Ben Su, Arvin Ahmadi

INFORMATION - YEAR 9 AND 10 INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION MEETINGS (IEMS)

This is a reminder that IEMs will be held for Year 9 and Year 10 students this Monday, 19 August. Appointments are available from 8.30am to 7.00pm. The IEM will be led by the student and will focus on all aspects of their learning including a showcase of their learning from Semester Two.

We ask that students only attend school for their IEM appointment over these times. Learning from home will be available for all students. Please contact Ros Britton, Deputy Principal, if your child needs supervision at school in the library on Monday. ros.britton@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz 

If you have not yet had an opportunity to book a time with your student’s Hub Coach, please click on the following link to book now: https://parentinterviews.co.nz/book/welcome?code=54J8KGXF  

EXCELLENCE - SPELLING BEE

Congratulations to Portia Cliffin who won the inaugural HPSS Spelling Bee trophy after a nail-biting and gasp-inducing final which included 20 very hard written spellings, and then two spelling-out-loud rounds with thw “championship” spellings. 

Each community had two finalists, and final placings for the Communities when both finalists' scores combined were:

Tiriwa in first place, Waiarohia 2nd, Onekiritea 3rd and Tāhere Tikitiki 4th.

Current standings overall in the Community Shield competition are below. Coming up this term - Community Ultimate Frisbee, Community Netball, and our annual Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori competition.

COLLABORATION - YOUTH PEACE WEEK & SYMPOSIUM

Last week, we celebrated Youth Peace Week, from the 4th to the 10th of August. This week is championed by the New Zealand Peace Foundation and the theme for this year was Whakanuia Rongonui mā, Teitei mā, te Hunga i Hohou i te Rongo: Celebrating Peace Icons – Past, Present, and Future. 

Each year, the Peace Foundation trains some of our students in the art of peer mediation, which includes ways to resolve conflict peacefully. These students become our Peer Mediators and they run events around the school. Last week, ten of our senior Peer Mediators completed the Advanced Peer Mediation training provided by the Peace Foundation.

This year the Peer Mediators wanted to showcase some of the local NZ youth peace icons, so they displayed posters of icons around the school and spoke in community hui's. In true Peace Week fashion, the Peer Mediators also decided to invite the hublings to make paper origami cranes and write kind messages to each other on the cranes, which were then delivered during the week. On Wednesday, they had a day of kind messages, where students wrote positive messages in chalk on the concrete and windows, filling the space with aroha. 

On the 16th of August, twenty Peer Mediators and Jess, the counsellor, attended the annual Peace Symposium. The Youth Peace Symposium is an event that gives the opportunity for rangatahi from secondary kura to come together and discuss issues relevant to society, and be inspired. It featured inspiring guest speakers and performances as well as topical workshops with students from many high schools across Auckland and beyond. Our students presented at the event and we are proud of all of their hard work to make a positive impact on the school and its students.

The students returned to school inspired and full of ideas of how they could promote peaceful events around the school and in the community. This is a fantastic leadership role for our students at HPSS. 

EXCELLENCE - STUDENTS CONQUER THE TOUGH GUY AND GAL MUD RUN

The Level 3 Physical Education students recently proved their mettle by competing in the Tough Guy and Gal Mud Run, at Kumeu showgrounds. This challenging event is renowned for its demanding obstacles, muddy terrain, and the need for sheer determination.

Throughout the course, our students displayed exceptional teamwork and resilience. Whether they were scaling walls, crawling through mud, or navigating tricky obstacles, they tackled each challenge head-on with grit and enthusiasm.

We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the spirit they showed during the event. Congratulations to all the students who took on this incredible challenge and represented our school with such pride!

SPORTING EXCELLENCE - NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

HPSS would like to acknowledge the following students for representing New Zealand in their chosen sport.

• Emma Lynch - represented the New Zealand Under 15 Indoor Netball team, and named Vice Captain. The NZ team played in a tri-series tournament against teams from Australia and South Africa. Awesome, Emma!

• Michael Wong - represented the U17 Junior All Whites at the recent Oceana Football Confederation World Cup qualifying tournament in Tahiti. The Junior All Whites won this tournament and have qualified for 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar. Amazing achievement, Michael - we are very proud of you!

INFORMATION - PROGRESS REPORTS AND NCEA SUMMARY

This afternoon, all students in Years 9-13 will receive a Progress Report.  These reports are designed to give an indication of how students have initially settled into their learning and measure performance against Learning Dispositions (Habits and Thinking) rather than Learning Outcomes. 

The four areas that are reported against are: Learning, Thinking, Relating to Others and Managing Self.  For each of these areas, the students will receive an Always (A), Mostly (M) or Not Yet (NY) result.  Not Yet grades will be accompanied by a teacher comment which will identify areas for improvement and next steps required. 

These reports will help guide learning conversations at the Year 9-10 Individual Education Meetings on Monday.  

In addition to the progress reports, all Year 12-13 whānau should receive an updated NCEA summary showing NCEA Achievement to date.

INFORMATION - LEARNER LICENCE WORKSHOP

Dates: Thursday 26th & Friday 27th September 9am-3:30pm both days.

• Cost: $195 per student, which includes the test fee of $96.10. Payment to be made via KAMAR by the end of term 3. 

• Registrations: We need a minimum number of students in order for the workshop to go ahead. 

• Registrations are required by Parents/Caregivers via this form

• If the cost of this course is prohibitive for your student, or you have any other questions, please contact Emma in the Pathways Team - emma.honeybone@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz 

KEY DATES 2024

Term 3: Monday 22 July - Friday 27 September 

• Friday 16 August - Progress Reports & NCEA Summaries sent out to whānau.

• Monday 19 August 8.30am - 7pm - No timetabled classes. IEMs for Year 9 and Year 10. Book here.

  NCEA/Course Information Session for Year 10 parents at 7pm.

• Monday 26 August - Saturday 31 August. Enrolment Week for Year 8s joining us for 2025 - enrol here.

• Friday 30 August - Staff Only Day. No timetabled classes.

• Monday 2 September - Friday 6 September. Winter Tournament Week (Sports)

• Wednesday 11 September - Tuesday 17 September Mock NCEA examinations - Year 12 and Year 13 study leave.

• Wednesday 18 September- Staff Only Day. No timetabled classes.

• Friday 20 September - Cultural Evening

• Friday 27 September - Last Day of Term 3. Learning Objective Reports sent out to whānau.

Term 4:  Monday 14 October - Friday 13 December 

Public Holidays: Labour Day – Monday 28 October