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Hobsonville Point Secondary School Communication29 May 2026 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGEKia ora e ngā whānau, Kia ora koutou, It is hard to believe that we are already entering the final half of Term 2. The term has been busy, productive, and full of many opportunities for our students both inside and outside the classroom. This week, many students completed the co-requisite examinations for this round. I would like to acknowledge the positive way our students conducted themselves throughout the examination period. They approached the assessments with maturity and focus, and we are proud of the way they represented our school values. Next week, we proudly celebrate Samoan Language Week. The theme for 2026 is: “‘E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le nu‘u – From the high mountains are the blessings of the village.” At Hobsonville Point Secondary School, we value and celebrate the diversity within our community. Cultural identity, language, and connection are an important part of who we are as a school, and Samoan Language Week provides an opportunity for us all to learn, celebrate, and honour Samoan culture and heritage together. We also look forward to our Pacific Island Fono in Week 8, which is an important opportunity to connect with our Pacific families and continue strengthening partnerships that support the success and well-being of our young people. As we head into the long weekend, I hope all members of our community have the opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with whānau and friends. There are certainly many winter bugs and illnesses circulating at the moment, so please take care, stay warm, and look after yourselves and one another. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of our school community. Wishing everyone a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable long weekend. Ngā mihi Kirsty Dowding Tumuaki Principal
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COLLABORATION: CELEBRATING NZ MUSIC MONTHTHEIA Year 11 Music students were recently visited by the musician Theia and her manager, Paula. Theia is an amazing speaker, and she shared her musical journey from signing up with a record label when she was very young through to being independent and writing the music she believes in. It was excellent for the students to also hear their manager discuss safety in the music industry and the importance of carefully checking contracts. She was inspiring, and the students were ready with a fantastic array of thoughtful questions. You can learn more about her and hear some of her music on her website. PLAY IT STRANGE Later the same day, we had a visit from Sam V (a prominent Auckland-based R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and producer, recognised as a rising star in the Pacific music scene) and Paige Tapara (who has worked with Billie Eilish, among others). They came in to talk about the many opportunities available to young musicians. They shared stories from behind the scenes at Play It Strange and talked about their own journey in music, and encouraged our students to take advantage of these opportunities. There are deadlines coming soon for the Play It Strange competitions. The Peace Project, the Waiata Māori competition, and the National Lion Foundation competition all have deadlines approaching soon. If you have a child who is writing their own original music the competition entry links can be found here.
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INTER-COMMUNITY MATHEX COMPETITIONOn Monday of this week, we held our first inter-community Mathex-style competition, a fast-paced and high-energy maths competition where both Foundation (Y9/10) and Qualification (Y11/12/13) teams were representing their respective communities, raced against the clock to solve challenging math problems. All the teams showcased their teamwork and problem-solving as the teams of four worked through these problems together. Congratulations to the winning teams of both categories, Waiarohia. Final placings: 1st - Waiarohia, 2nd - Taheretikitiki, 3rd - Tiriwa, 4th - Onekiritea. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped out through marking and setting up to make this all possible Megan Wiggill, Year 13
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EXCELLENCE: SMOKE-FREE ROCK QUESTYear 13 student Madi Mclellan & her band Sidetracked competed in the Auckland Central Smokefree Rockquest band competition on Sunday 17th May, representing Hobsonville Point Secondary School and Rutherford College. We are pleased to announce that Sidetracked were one of only twelve bands to progress to the Auckland Central regional finals. The regional final will take place on Friday 5th June at Auckland Girls Grammar at 7pm and we wish her all the best. If you would like to support Madi you can purchase tickets to the final here.
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COLLABORATION: COMMERCE DAY AT MASSEY UNIVERSITYOn the 20th of May, our Year 12 and Year 13 business and economics students had the opportunity to visit Massey University to get a feel for what it is like to study there at a tertiary level. During our time on the campus, we were able to explore and tour around the university. This is where we saw all the different facilities and study areas, and also had the opportunity to attend a third-year lecture on marketing. There were even engaging activities that helped deepen our understanding of real-world business and economic scenarios. We had such a fun experience on campus. All of us gained valuable insights, including what student life is like, potential pathways, and the future opportunities that Massey University offers. Kristina Orog, Yr 13
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EXCELLENCE: NORTH HARBOUR ZONE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPSOn Tuesday 19 May, a small team of 8 swimmers represented HPSS at the North Harbour Zones Swimming Championships, one of the strongest and most competitive swimming zones in Auckland. Our swimmers performed well, supported one another throughout the day, and represented HPSS positively by giving each event their best effort. Special congratulations to our students achieving Top 10 placings in their age groups: Daniella Gregorio – all four events in the Girls 16–18 Years age group, including 2nd place in the 50m Breaststroke William Blair – Boys 16–18 Years 50m Butterfly Boys 16–18 Years 4 × 50m Medley Relay (Ethan Poore, William Blair, Owen Mol & Marcus Hook)
Congratulations to Daniella Gregorio for qualifying for the Auckland championship finals in the Girls 16–18 Years 50m Breaststroke. Team members: William Blair, Owen Mol, Marcus Hook, Daniella Gregorio, Ethan Poore, Eden McPherson, Penelope Teirney and Saana Haiko.
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COLLABORATION: INTERNSHIP STORY TRISTYN WALKERI am an intern who works as a Hospice Shop volunteer at the Henderson Hospice shop. As a keen volunteer who's always willing to lend a helping hand, I have many roles to play, such as a retail associate, tagging associate, and cashier. As a retail associate, I assist customers, tidy clothing racks, and restock items. As a tagging associate, I price different items based on their brand, quality, and appearance. And as a cashier, I manage bags and handle transactions. Through these roles, I am able to engage with customers and work with all sorts of friendly people, which allows me to gain a new understanding of what's it's like to be in the workplace. Through this internship, I am gaining customer service experience so I can pursue a career as a flight attendant.
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INNOVATION: YOUNG ENTERPRISE PITCH DAYThe energy at the Trusts Arena was buzzing as our 28 Year 13 Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) students stepped up to face the Pitch Day judges. For weeks, they had been refining their business concepts, calculating financial projections, and practicing their deliveries, but walking into a massive regional venue brought a whole new level of reality to the project. Standing before panels of real-world business professionals and investors, the initial nervous tension in the room was palpable. However, as each team took the stage, that anxiety quickly gave way to absolute focus. They pitched their hearts out, fielded tough questions with impressive agility, and truly owned their ideas under pressure. What began as a nerve-wracking challenge wrapped up as an incredibly rewarding milestone. Once the high-stakes presentations were over, the relief shifted into genuine excitement and pride as the students mingled, celebrated their breakthroughs, and soaked in the supportive atmosphere of the arena. They didn't just survive the scrutiny of a professional panel; they thrived, gaining invaluable entrepreneurial insight and an enormous boost in confidence. Watching them cheer each other on and realise exactly what they are capable of made it an unforgettable day, leaving everyone inspired and ready to take their business ventures to the next level.
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CONNECTEDNESS: YEAR 13s TRIUMPH IN STAFF vs. STUDENT NETBALLThe courts were buzzing last week for the highly anticipated Staff vs. Year 13 Netball Match, and it’s safe to say the game lived up to the hype. The staff came out strong, showcasing some "vintage" moves and strategic positioning, but they were ultimately no match for the speed, agility, and sheer determination of our seniors. Despite some competitive tension and a lot of good-natured trash talk, the Year 13s took control of the court with some flawless shooting and intercepting. When the final whistle blew, the Year 13s secured a definitive victory, leaving the staff to nurse both their bruised pride and their sore joints. Staff, ice those joints—there’s always next year.
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EXCELLENCE: CAMBRIDGE RE:THINK ESSAY COMPETITIONCongratulations Ronald Wang (Year 12) who received an Honourable Mention, which is only awarded to the top 10% of entries to the Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition 2026 - Senior Division. This year, the competition received over 15,000 submissions from students across more than 50 countries, with Honourable Mentions awarded to the top 10% of entries after four rounds of blind review conducted by scholars from universities including Cambridge, Oxford, Stanford, MIT, and several Ivy League institutions.
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CONNECTEDNESS: SENIOR ESS RANGITOTO TRIPOn Friday last week, senior Earth and Space Science students travelled to Rangitoto as part of the current geology unit. For the year 13 students, they gathered data to determine the date of the last eruption of Rangitoto for their geology assessment. For the year 12 students, it was a great opportunity to see geology in practice, from the fields of basalt and scoria to the red, iron-rich soil along some of the paths. Some students went all the way to the summit, and were in awe of the views, but also by how the crater had fully grown over in such a short time (in geological terms). Students will now use the collected data to prepare for the next assessment, a practical investigation: year 12s will investigate Māori use of different kinds of rock for different tools, and year 13s will investigate the impacts of Rangitoto's last eruption on Motutapu.
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EXCELLENCE: AUCKLAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSCongratulations Ramteen Samari (Year 13) who won a silver medal at the Auckland Secondary Schools Wrestling Championships.
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CODING COMPETITIONHPSS is running a game coding competition to support literacy development in the school. Your mission: turn a real-world dataset into a game that helps people learn to spell. There is a $200 Prize for the best spelling game. One winner takes the full prize. Judging is based on fun, functionality, and creativity.
HOW TO ENTER
On the Coding Club Classroom (join code: xpprvsy), there is all the info you need, including a 'spelling_quiz' dataset, a spreadsheet of 110 commonly misspelt English words. Each row includes the correct spelling, four options (three wrong, one right), and an answer key. Your job is to use this data to build a game that makes practising spelling genuinely enjoyable. It can be simple or elaborate, serious or silly, as long as it works and it teaches students how to spell. This will be especially useful to those students entering the HPSS intercommunity spelling bee and then the NZ Spelling Bee finals which we have to look forward to at the start of Term 3.
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KEY DATES 2026All key dates for the year can also be found on the Calendar on our SchoolBridge app, along with Attendance, Daily Notices, Reports, Results, and Payments. Term 1 (10 weeks) - Friday 30 January - Thursday 2 April Term 2 (11 weeks) - Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July Public Holidays: ANZAC Day Observed - Monday 27 April, King’s Birthday – Monday 1 June IEMs: Yrs 9,10,11 - Wednesday 1 July 2pm - 7.30pm and Thursday 2 July 3.30pm - 7.30pm. Bookings open on School Bridge next week.
Term 3 (10 weeks) - Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September HPSS Open Evening for 2027 new students - Monday 27 July 5pm - 7pm Staff Only Day (Board) - Friday 4 September IEMS: Yr 12-13 - Wednesday 16 September 2pm - 8pm Derived Grade Exams - Thursday 17 September to Friday 25 September School Ball: Yr 12-13 - Friday 25 September
Term 4 (9 weeks) - Monday 12 October - Thursday 10 December Public Holidays: Labour Day – Monday 26 October Year 12 Prize giving - Wednesday 4 November 2.30pm Year 13 Graduation & Prize giving - Wednesday 4 November 5pm Staff Only Day (MoE: Curriculum) - Friday 6 November NCEA Exams - Tuesday 10 November to Friday 4 December IEMs: Yrs 9,10,11 - Wednesday 2 December 2pm - 7.30pm and Thursday 3 December 3.30pm - 7.30pm
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