Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication

6 November 2024

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Kia ora e ngā whānau,

The Year 12 & 13 students are now on study leave, and we wish them well for all their examinations. It was great to celebrate these students last week at prize giving; it was an event that highlighted how outstanding our students are.

This is an excellent time for our Year 9 - 11 students to show their leadership skills and continue to develop all of our Hobsonville Point Habits. I met with all the year levels this week to discuss our behaviour expectations for the rest of the year and the importance of representing our school positively. Our students will rise to this challenge and positively end the year.

Today, you will receive your child's progress report, and this is an excellent opportunity to celebrate and discuss what is happening at school, how their learning is going and if they require any additional support. Sometimes, students may feel disappointed with their progress, which can be challenging to discuss. Disappointment can be a tricky emotion to deal with at any age. It’s important to understand that disappointment is a normal emotion and plays a vital role in a young person's emotional, intellectual, and social development. Instead of trying to shield children from disappointment, we can support them in learning how to cope with it, as it equips them with the skills for future challenges. Helping children develop healthy strategies for managing disappointment will contribute to their long-term happiness and success. If you would like more information on this topic, please check out the special report on the school TV. 

https://hpss.nz.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-dealing-disappointment

We thank you for your ongoing support, and I hope to see many of you celebrating Diwali on Saturday evening at the Catalina Bay waterfront.

Ngā mihi

Kirsty Dowding

Tumuaki Principal

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

This is a reminder that there is a Paid Union Meeting (PUM) on Monday.  This means that school will close at 1.30pm on Monday, 11th October, and students can go home.  The branch has chosen this time to minimise disruption, and if your child cannot go home for the afternoon, please email info@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz, and we will arrange for non-union members to supervise your child.  We have organised for the Whenuapai bus to collect students at 1.30pm.

Friday 29 November will be the last day for Year 11’s with Year 11 prize-giving taking place at 9.30am.  Following this, IEMs for Year 9 and 10 students and their whānau will occur from 11.00am - 6.30pm. Bookings can be made here.  As a result, there will be no scheduled class on this day.  Please contact info@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz if your child needs supervision in the school library.

Please check the ‘key dates’ section below for the remaining significant term dates.

EXCELLENCE - YEAR 12-13 PRIZE-GIVING CELEBRATIONS

This year’s Senior Prize Givings were a memorable celebration of our Year 12 and Year 13 students' dedication, talent, and growth. We gathered as a school community to honour their exceptional achievements across academics, arts, culture, sports, and leadership. The two celebrations were both filled with pride as students were recognised not only for their individual efforts but also for their commitment to upholding the school’s values. It was inspiring to witness the excellence and resilience that each student has shown throughout the year, and we are incredibly proud of their accomplishments. We also acknowledged the invaluable support and partnership of their parents/caregivers and whānau.

At the Year 13 graduation and prize giving, we acknowledged every one of our students who completed Year 13, with each of them walking across the stage and receiving a taonga. 

Special recognition went to those who received the highest awards. Congratulations to our Dux Litterarum, Amy Zhu and to Proxime Accessit, Keith Lai, for their outstanding academic excellence. We also acknowledged Jared Lancaster who excelled in his vocational studies. Our highest recognition, Overall Excellence, celebrated Eve Turnbull, who received Te Waka Huia trophy for her personal excellence, academic excellence, leadership, and contribution to our school community. 

We also celebrated the success of students being awarded a range of prestigious university scholarships. 

Each of the students on this list of award winners exemplify what we value at our school, and we look forward to seeing them continue to achieve great things.

Official photos from the Sports and Year 12-13 prize-giving celebrations can now be viewed by clicking on this link and providing your name and email. Photos from the Year 9-11 prize-givings celebrations will be added at a later date. Thank you to Geoff Salisbury for capturing the celebrations.

CONNECTEDNESS - DIWALI CELEBRATIONS

Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, is a week-long celebration of Hindu origin. This celebration symbolises the victory of good over evil. This year, we had activities spanning over a whole week. 

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 free henna available for students along with a bollywood movie and indian snacks. On Friday, we celebrated food and performances at lunch while students were encouraged to wear south asian/ desi clothing to school. 

This celebration means so much to lot’s of people and it was amazing to see so many students getting involved, enjoying, and learning about this celebration. Huge thank you to all the students who worked alongside me for the past term to make this event a success. And thank you to all the staff who helped this event work and motivated students to participate. 

Nikita Naidu

FEEDBACK - COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION SURVEY RESULTS

Thank you to all our whānau who took the time to complete the community communication and reporting survey sent out last week.  The results were largely positive with 94% of whānau finding the fortnightly newsletter informative, 85% stating it was easy or very easy to contact key people at HPSS, 68% believing communication to have improved in 2024, and 70% finding reporting more timely and accessible.  

Our ongoing partnership with the community is crucial to the success of our school and we will use the voice and valuable suggestions provided by you to continue to improve our reporting and communication in 2025.

SPORTING EXCELLENCE - KI O RAHI

HPSS had two teams competing in the Tamaki Makaurau Regional Juniors competition this Tuesday, at McManus park in Mt Wellington Auckland.

Across the two teams they played nine games of Ki o Rahi in the Open Mixed Grade, showing lots of Mana and Manaakitanga for each other and their opposition. This tournament allowed students the experience to explore the game of Ki o Rahi and connect with the Te Ao Māori.  We are looking forward to the growth of the sport at HPSS in 2025.

INFORMATION - EARLY PICK UP FROM SCHOOL PROCESS

Parents and Caregivers,

To keep class interruptions to a minimum and taking into account the fact that the public announcement system is off for exams over the next four weeks, we would appreciate your help.

If you are planning to collect your students earlier than 3.30pm (eg: for appointments), or you need them released at a specific time, can you please advise the attendance team:

• Phone:  (09) 975 7400

• Email: absences@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz

• Report on School Bridge via our website at www.hpss.school.nz via the PARENT PORTAL or download the School Bridge app 

INFORMATION - PROGRESS REPORTS FOR ALL YEAR 9-11 STUDENTS

Progress Reports have been completed by classroom teachers and Learning Hub Coaches for  both Foundation (Years 9 and 10) and Year 11 students. 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.  

Progress Reports should provide an opportunity to students for reflection and goal setting with their Learning Coaches in their Learning Hub.  

Progress reports for Term 4 will be published today on both KAMAR Parent Portal and by email.  For Year 11 students completing a combination of Year 11 and 12 classes, they will only receive results for their Year 11 classes.  

CONNECTEDNESS - NATHAN WALLIS SEMINAR UNDERSTANDING THE TEEN BRAIN

KEY DATES 2024

Term 4:  Monday 14 October - Friday 13 December 

• Tuesday 5 November - NCEA examinations begin.

• Thursday 21 November - Orientation Day for Year 8s. 3pm - information session to support Year 8 & Year 9 parents with course selection for 2025.

• Friday 29 November - Last day for Year 11s and Year 11 prize giving 9.30am. Year 9 and 10 IEMs from 11am - 6.30pm. Book here. No classes on this day, as staff will be with whānau and students in IEM appointments.  Please contact info@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz if your child needs supervision in the school library on this day. 

• Monday 2 December to Friday 6 December - Year 9 and 10 EOTC Week. Year 11 service trip to Samoa.

• Friday 13 December - Last day for Year 9s and 10s and junior prize-givings.

  Year 10s; 9.30am. Year 9s; 11.00am. School finishes at 12.00pm.

KEY DATES 2025

Term 1 - Monday 3 February - Friday 11 April

• Thursday 30 January & Friday 31 January - IEMs for all Year 9s, Year 10s, and new students 

• All Year 9s and new students to HPSS start Monday 3 February 10am

• All students start Tuesday 4 February 9am

• Public Holidays: Waitangi Day – Thursday 6 February

Term 2 - Monday 28 April - Friday 27 June 

• Public Holidays: King’s Birthday – Monday 2 June

• Matariki – Friday 20 June

Term 3 - Monday 14 July - Friday 19 September 

Term 4 - Monday 6 October - Friday 12 December 

• Public Holidays: Labour Day – Monday 27 October