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Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication9 May 2025 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGEKia ora e ngā whānau, It has been a great start to the term with our students settling back into learning, winter sports training, and many EOTC (education outside the classroom) activities. I am proud of the wide range of opportunities we offer our students and the positive impact this has on our students and staff. Students have responded well to the Phone Away for the Day policy. The phone policy aims to reduce distractions, enhance focus, and create a better learning environment. Excessive screen time has been linked to poor academic performance, reduced attention span, and mental health issues. By limiting smartphone use during school hours, the policy seeks to mitigate these risks and prioritise educational experiences and connection. The phone policy is a complex issue requiring careful consideration from parents, educators, and students. The goal is to create a learning environment that supports holistic adolescent development, balancing technology benefits with real-world connections and experiences. Moving forward, if your child is using their cell phone at school, you will receive an email notifying you and asking you to have a conversation with them. We thank you for your ongoing support. If you are looking for information on managing screen time, please see the School TV resources https://hpss.nz.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time. We ended last term with our Individual Education Meetings (IEMs). This is a way for our students to celebrate their learning and success. If you did not have an IEM, please contact your child's hub coach to arrange an appointment. These meetings are pivotal in ensuring your child thrives. We thank you for your on-going partnership and support. Ngā mihi Kirsty Dowding Tumuaki Principal
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GENERAL INFORMATIONWe are noticing increased requests to use CCTV cameras in schools to find lost property. This uses valuable staff time and is not the purpose of the CCTV footage. The purpose of using camera surveillance is to deter and identify anyone: entering the school grounds illegally engaging in criminal activity, misconduct, or behaviour risking harm to health and safety.
We ask that you look after your valuables at school, including securing scooters and bikes, making sure that these are locked and left in the appropriate places. Our Camera Surveillance Policy can be viewed at https://hobsonvillepoint.schooldocs.co.nz/ (Username: hobsonvillepoint / Password: onekiritea).
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PEER MEDIATOR TRAININGOn Wednesday the 30th April, sixty new Peer Mediators attended training at HPSS. Each year the Peace Foundation trains a new batch of students in the art of conflict resolution, restorative practice and active listening skills. During the training, the students are equipped with the skills to support their fellow students to solve arguments and restore friendships. They are also given the chance to join the Peer Mediators group at the school, which is a leadership opportunity where they run activities around the school to raise awareness around important topics like Pink Shirt Day, Mental Health Week and Peace Week. Jessica Channon
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PATHWAYS - TAHATŪ CAREERS EXPOThe Tahatū Careers Expo is approaching. Attending the expo is a useful step for students to equip themselves for the transition out of Secondary School. As a school, we support our Y12 and Y13 students attending on Wednesday, as this will not impact NCEA classes. If your student would like to attend the expo in lieu of school for the day, please complete this Google form so that we can ensure to code attendance as 'offsite learning' for that day. The school is not providing transport or supervision. However, all of our Pathways staff will be at the expo and identifiable by their HPSS lanyards and name tags. Students and whānau are welcome to seek them out for support at the event. The expo details are: Date - Wednesday 18 June 2025 10:00 - 2.00 Location - Auckland Showgrounds, 217 Green Lane West, Epsom, Auckland
Information regarding the expo can be found at https://careersexpo.org.nz/. If you and your student are unable to attend the expo, the following are smaller local career expos which may be more suitable for some whānau: Careers Out West North Shore Career Expo
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CONNECTEDNESS - DANCE PROJECTWe are David, John and Henry, three students in the Dance Project. The main focus of our project is to create a dance movement for residents at the Metlifecare Retirement Village. We know that we have to be careful with the dance movement we create, ensuring our dance moves are made with precision so that it will be easy for them to understand and do it.
I had fun in the retirement village especially during the first time our project went there where we had conversations with the residents. It was a fun experience, as we interviewed or asked questions about how they lived, the things they like, the things they do and they gave good tips on the future. It was great to find connections and was a really educational experience. The preparations we did for the class were to create the moves with some careful thinking and proper planning. We took into account that moves which are too fast, or require squatting, might be too challenging. Something that we did at the beginning of the class was a warm up we had developed; we did some dynamic stretches to get them warmed up and ready for the real dance. Our main dance teacher is Haozhen; he taught them step by step and we try to make them feel comfortable by telling them it is fine if they can’t do a movement. Some of the resident’s didn’t have the ability to fully move without getting tired or feeling dizzy or in pain During our teaching, we had to be adaptive, coming up with some easier movements and responding to feedback that the dance was too fast by playing the music at 0.8x speed. The movement that most people seemed to not get the most is the foot movement because it is kind of complicated and requires some muscle memory. To us, it is so fun to teach them the dance and it feels so good seeing them having fun. I think they also enjoyed the experience and had fun doing it. Thank you to the residents and staff of the Metlifecare Retirement Village for having us. David Joshua De Castro, John Park and Henry Udomphol
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INSPIRE - CELEBRATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTERNATIONAL BOOK WEEK AT HPSSThis week, from May 5th to 9th, we celebrated the 80th Anniversary of International Book Week, a global party for book lovers everywhere. HPSS joined in with a bunch of fun, book-themed activities and competitions that brought students and teachers together to share their love for reading. International Book Week started 80 years ago as a way to get people engaged in reading and has since grown into a week full of events and fun to encourage everyone to pick up a book. The week kicked off on Monday with “The Big Book Quiz,” where students and teachers battled it out to answer questions about authors, characters, and book titles. Wednesday was Dress Up Day as everyone was encouraged to come to school dressed as authors or book characters. The school was buzzing with literary figures, from classic characters to modern heroes, showing off the wide range of books that inspire the HPSS community. On Thursday, the excitement peaked with a visit from the amazing author Graci Kim. Graci Kim, a New Zealand diplomat turned award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, is known for her series, The Gifted Clans, which mixes Korean mythology with modern adventure. Her visit was a fantastic chance for students to meet a successful author and learn about writing and publishing. Her talks were not only informative but also entertaining, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who attended. The HPSS library is more than just a place to borrow books; it's a lively hub of creativity and fun. With over 10,000 books, it offers tons of resources for students and teachers. This week, the library hosted several cool activities, including a "Make a Bookmark" station where students could design their own bookmarks, and a "Match the Teacher to the Book" game that challenged participants to guess teachers' favorite books. The 80th Anniversary of International Book Week at HPSS was a huge hit, packed with activities that celebrated the joy of reading and the power of books to bring people together. From quizzes and dress-up days to inspiring talks by renowned authors, everyone had a blast. Here's to many more years of celebrating the magic of reading!
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INFORMATION - SOCIAL MEDIA USE SUPPORTSOur guidance team spoke to all students in our community hui this week about the impact of comments made online and we have been discussing the addictive nature of social media and smartphones as part of our education around the school phone ban. There is a useful section on SchoolTV for parents around these issues: https://hpss.nz.schooltv.me/newsletter/social-media-and-digital-reputation Additionally, our pastoral and guidance team are interested to know what topics our parent community are most interested in learning about, as we plan some parent information sessions for the future. Please complete the "wellbeing barometer" survey to give us some valuable information: https://hpss.nz.schooltv.me/wellbeing-barometer-2025-secondary If you have any questions or would like further support with any aspect of wellbeing for your student, please do not hesitate to contact your student's hub coach or community leader, or our guidance team counselling@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz
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EXCELLENCE IN PERFORMING ARTSHaozhen Zhan (Year 10) is a member of New Zealand’s leading youth hip hop dance crew, Yung I.D. Haozhen, and the members of Yung I.D., trained for months to perfect their dance for the World Dance Crew Championships which was held in Auckland during the recent school holidays. Yung I.D. came First in the Youth Supercrew division, making them the top youth crew in the world for 2025. Congratulations to Haozhen for his achievement and all the hardwork he put into achieve it. For inspiration, their performance can be viewed here.
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COLLABORATION - INTER-COMMUNITY NETBALL We kicked off Term 2 in style with Community Sport—this time, featuring netball.
Last week, the Foundations took to the court. For three thrilling days, the gym was alive with cheering fans and fierce competition. The finals were a true spectacle: Waiarohia came out strong, dominating the first half with a 6-point lead. But Onekiritea wasn’t done yet—they rallied in the second half with determination and teamwork, ultimately claiming a well-earned victory.
This week, it was the Qualification students' turn. Our four communities faced off in a series of fast-paced, high-energy matches, each team battling it out until the final seconds. On Friday, Tāhere Tikitiki and Waiarohia took to the court to compete for 1st place in the finals! Congratulations to Waiarohia for claiming first place! A big thank you to everyone who has played over the past two weeks. It’s been incredible to see such strong community spirit and sportsmanship on display! Livi Oswald (Yr 13)
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SPORTING EXCELLENCECongratulations to Igor Russanov, William Blair and Jason Oswald for their recent sporting success. William and Jason competed in the recent Auckland Triathlon, with William coming 3rd and Jason 4th in the novice grade. Over the school holidays, Igor travelled to Australia to compete in the Australian Age Group Championship, coming 13th in the 50m Freestyle (with a time of 23.81 secs) and 9th in the 100m Freestyle (with a time of 55.89 secs). Best of luck to Igor for the upcoming New Zealand Swimming Championships.
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INSPIRE - WORLD VISION YOUTH CONFERENCE 2025On May 2nd, we represented Hobsonville Point Secondary School at the World Vision Youth Conference 2025. The conference inspired us to become advocates for social justice, develop our leadership skills, and connect with passionate students from across Auckland. We heard from powerful youth leaders, UN speakers, and change-makers who shared how they’ve taken action in their communities. A key focus was this year’s 40 Hour Famine Challenge, encouraging students to go offline for 40 hours to fundraise for children living in poverty in the Solomon Islands. We explored topics like climate change and modern slavery, and took part in hands-on advocacy by writing letters to our local MPs. The World Vision Youth conference revolved around the quote "if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together." This powerful message sparked inspiration and gave us an empowering experience, helping us see leadership in a new light, as something rooted in kindness, courage, and a desire to help others. Thanks to the impactful advocates sharing their personal, powerful stories, it reminded us we all have the potential and qualities to lead and make a positive difference. Furthermore, we understood the significance of the 40 Hour Famine, and how even small acts of sacrifice can help tackle big issues like hunger and poverty. We walked away feeling hopeful, motivated, and ready to take action in our classes, school, communities and beyond. Vani Batra & Suah Jeong (Yr 11)
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MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWSIGNITE We are delighted to share that Emilee Crawford in Year 13 has been successful in her application to receive production mentoring as an intern for IGNITE. The programme offers one on one mentoring from industry professionals, upskilling opportunities, hands on experience and the opportunity to apply the skills learnt to practice. Ignite work to engage the wider community by producing truly authentic all ages shows – run by young people for young people, whilst creating key performance opportunities for young and emerging artists. Emilee is looking forward to developing her production skills and will be working on her own original songs. Congratulations Emilee. SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST We have two acts entered into the solo/duo Competition (Ezra Usmani - Year 13, and Kayla Gorst - Year 10). The event is being held at TAPAC at Western Springs College (100 Motions Road), on Sunday the 11th of May. The session with our two young artists in it will begin at 2:30pm. A combined band (Rutherford College and HPSS) featuring Madi Mclellan will compete at the Auckland Central heats on Friday 16th May at the Dorothy Winstone Centre at AGGS - beginning at 4:30pm. Tickets for both events are available at the door. PLAY IT STRANGE Several original songs by HPSS students have been entered into the Youth Town Play it Strange competition (for students in Years 9-11). We are looking forward to being able to share the results with you as soon as they are announced.
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EXTRA-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES - KICKBOXINGDid you know we had a free kick boxing club at HPSS? We do!! Kick boxing club is open to all students, no experience necessary.
Sessions run the following times: Mondays, Auditorium, 7:15-8:00am Wednesdays, Dance studio, 3:45-5:00pm Thursdays, Dance studio, 3:45-5:00pm Fridays, Auditorium, 7:15-8:00am
Check out what one of the crew had to say about the sessions: "Kickboxing is more than just throwing punches and kicks — it’s about building strength, confidence, and focus. In our school sessions, we learn powerful techniques, improve our fitness, and push our limits in a fun and supportive environment. Whether you’re looking to stay active, relieve stress, or challenge yourself, kickboxing is an exciting way to grow stronger inside and out."
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KEY DATES 2025Term 2 - Monday 28 April - Friday 27 June Public Holidays: King’s Birthday – Monday 2 June Tuesday, 3 June - Staff Only Day Matariki – Friday 20 June
Term 3 - Monday 14 July - Friday 19 September 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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