Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication

24 June 2024

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Kia ora e ngā whānau,

We are looking forward to seeing all our Year 11 - 13 students and their whanau for Individual Education Meetings (IEMs) this week. IEM(s) are an important part of our school and ensure we are able to maintain strong partnerships and enable students to reach their potential.

Scheduled lessons will conclude at 1.30pm on Wednesday, with IEMs taking place on Wednesday from 2.00pm-7.00pm, and Thursday, from 8.30am-4.30pm.  We ask that students only attend school for their IEM appointment over these times. Learning from home will be available for all students.  Further information about IEMs can be found here.

If you haven't had yet an opportunity, please book a time with your Year 11-13 student’s hub coach here.

Last week I went and watched four of our netball teams play at Te Pai courts on Tuesday evening. It was great to see so many parents on the sidelines supporting our students. The teams showed courage and resilience and I was extremely proud of all the teams that played. 

This week I will be meeting with all our sports teams to discuss the expectations of behavior when our students are participating in sport. As the students are representing Hobsonville Point Secondary School, we expect all students to be displaying our values at all times. 

As the days get colder we notice that some students are arriving to school late. It is important that students arrive at school on time to make the most of their learning.

We hope that you are enjoying our fortnightly pānui, seeing our students achievements, celebrating the success of our young people and having regular updates for key dates or activities for each term.

We thank you again, for all your ongoing support and partnership. 

Ngā mihi
 

Kirsty Dowding

Tumuaki Principal

INFORMATION - OPEN EVENING AND OPEN DAYS

HPSS is proud to invite the community to our annual Open Evening and Open Days. These occasions showcase the opportunities and experiences which our school provides our learners and will provide useful information for prospective parents and students.

• Open Evening - Wednesday, 24th July (Term 3, Week 1). The Open Evening will run from 5.30pm to 7.30pm and provide an opportunity for prospectives students and their whānau to visit our school, meet some of our students and learn about the rich learning opportunities which our school provides.

   

• Open Day Tours - Friday, 26th July and Tuesday, 30th July. The Open Day Tours enable prospective students and their whānau to visit our school and teachers in action and experience a school day at HPSS.  

To confirm your attendance at one of the Open Day Tours, please complete the google form here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - NEW HPSS WEBSITE AND
ABSENCE REPORTING SYSTEM

We are excited to announce the launch of our new HPSS Website and the Schoolbridge absence reporting system.  

EXCELLENCE - UPPER HARBOUR YOUTH ART EXHIBITION

Congratulations to our talented artists Aimee Forster, Nicole Lombard & Vani Batra for having their artwork selected for The Upper Harbour Youth Art Exhibition.

It is an exciting opportunity that will showcase amazing artworks from the youth of our community.

The exhibition is opening on the 22nd of June at the Headquarters Building (Te Mahere) at 214 Buckley Ave, Hobsonville @ 6:30-8pm.

Vani Batra, "Mandala", 2024, Year 10

The Mandalas symbolise the universe in its ideal form. Doing Mandala art helps me form a deeper connection with my culture and allows me to feel at peace.

END OF YEAR JUNIOR CAMP

Kia ora whānau. We're still waiting responses for camp from 100 Foundation (Year 9 and 10) students. These numbers are important, as they inform our next steps in planning.

As you may recall from previous notices, the details of camp this year are:

• Cost: $450

• Dates: 2nd-6th December

• Place: CYC Ngaruawahia

Here is a short video showing the facilities.

If you haven't yet filled in the form to confirm whether or not your child is attending, please do so. Please complete the form even if you do not believe that your child will be attending as it enables us to confirm numbers.

Similarly, if you're unsure if you've filled in the form or not, please fill it in as we can check the responses and take the duplicates out.

The Junior Camp Form can be found here. If the link doesn't work, please copy and paste the following into your browser: https://forms.gle/1JxA6fiJkkVDq6AbA

CONNECTION - INTERNSHIP AT SHERATT INGREDIENTS 

A typical day on my internship at Sherratt Ingredients involves mixing chemicals and substances to create new flavours for products, as well as testing foods and comparing flavours. I have enjoyed learning about all the different processes that take place in order to make new flavours and about the effects each substance has on different products. 

The team at Sherratt Ingredients are super nice and helped me understand what happens in the lab. They are easy to work with and have made me feel very welcome. With their help I have been able to learn about different additives and proteins, and many other different chemical substances that go into our foods. 

As the internship continues, I hope to keep learning more about the chemical side of food technology, creating new products and expanding my experience through this internship. I have learnt many things that will help me in my pathway where I hope to become a food technologist in the future.
Clarissa Suwandi

CULINARY EXCELLENCE  

On 13 June, three Q3 students, Rakema, Rakera and Nikisha, took part in a North Island Culinary competition, competing against 14 students from other schools. The students entered the 'Creative Burger Live' event in which they had just 45 minutes to prepare and serve a burger or cafe sandwiches.

All three girls (Rakema, Rakera and Nikisha) won silver medals for their entries to the live burger event, with Rakera winning first place overall with her Island Fusion Burger!  As part of the prize for this she won a work placement experience at the park Hyatt.

This was her description card: "Inspired by “Beneka an kiribati” - a sweet and spicy sauce from the islands, this burger is a fusion twist on raw fish. Crumbed snapper paired with a range of local Māori herbs and spices. Fried onion and fresh salad adds texture and balance."

INFORMATION - YEAR 9 AND 10, SEMESTER 2, COURSE SELECTION

All Year 9 and 10 parents should have received an email on Friday with the Foundation Course Booklet for next term. Students will be supported by their hub coaches this week with selecting their Modules and SPINS for next semester (Terms 3 and 4).

Please review the Course Booklet with your children to help them with their selections. As always, we will do our best to accommodate the Module and SPIN preferences of our students. However, class allocation be balanced by a number of factors, including the need to provide curriculum coverage for all of our students and the limitations of specialist classroom spaces. We appreciate your support with helping our students build their resilience if they do not gain their first choice selections.

COLLABORATION - MATARIKI CEREMONY 

As mentioned in the last pānui, the Year 9 students of the Manaaki Project, in partnership with Te Ohu o Onekiritea and supported by Te Kawerau ā Manaaki, are hosting a Matariki Ceremony for the wider Hobsonville community on Friday 28 June.

The hautapu ceremony (feeding of the stars) will take place at Bomb Point (Te Onekiritea Point) at 6.15am. Following this there will be free breakfast, coffees, hot chocolates and activities for the whole family (games, face painting, star weaving, kite making and colouring in) at Hobsonville Point Secondary School from 7.15am.

This is hopefully the first of an annual ceremony and we look forward to seeing you all there. To confirm your attendance, please complete the google form linked here.

Further information can be found in the poster designed by Sean Aguas below.

INQUIRY - Q3 PHYSICS STARDOME EXPLORATION 

The Q3 Physics class went last week to the Stardome to explore the astronomical elements of the physics. While there, the students learnt about blackholes, how they form and how the principles of physics apply (or don't apply) to the existence of blackholes. Students will use the knowledge they have gained to expand their understanding of physics and apply their understanding to their internal assessments.

SPORTING UPDATES - TURBO TOUCH CHAMPS

On Thursday, 20 June, our school competed in the Auckland Secondary School's Turbo Touch Champs. Congratulations to all those that took part and for the values they demonstrated on the courts.

KEY DATES 2024

Term 2:  Monday 29 April - Friday 05 July 

Wednesday 26 June - 

• School finishes timetabled classes at 1.30pm. 

• IEMs for Year 11-13, 2.00pm - 7.00pm. Click here to confirm your attendance

• NCEA Information Sessions 5.00pm & 7.00pm.

Thursday 27 June - No timetabled classes. IEMs for Year 11, Year 12 & Year 13. Click here to confirm your attendance

Matariki Public Holiday – Friday 28 June - Community Matariki Event.

Friday 05 July - Last Day of Term 2.  Learning Objective & NCEA Achievement Reports Sent Out.  School Ball for Year 12 & Year 13 students.

Term 3: Monday 22 July - Friday 27 September 

Term 4:  Monday 14 October - Friday 13 December 

Public Holidays: Labour Day – Monday 28 October