FROM THE PRINCIPAL

5th June, 2026

Dear HNHS families,

At our school assemblies each week, time is set aside for student performances.   We are fortunate to be part of a school where there seems to be an unending supply of talented performers.  Offering students a chance to perform is such an important part of developing a school culture where participation and achievement is celebrated and enjoyed by the whole school community. 

That we have such a strong cultural arm of the school will come as no surprise to the community.  Especially given how often the accolades of our young performing artists appear in these emails, in newsletters and online.   Over the next week or so we have students competing at the chamber music competition, Big Sing and the Smokefree Rockquest, so I look forward to reporting back on those events in the next update.

What can sometimes be overlooked, however, is the vital contribution sport makes to our school community.  It is a pleasure to walk around our school every afternoon where the fields are packed with students playing matches and attending trainings.   This year, the sheer number of students involved has reinforced the importance of sport more than ever before. 

I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without recognising some of the fantastic early results achieved by our teams, which mark the strongest start to a winter sports season that I can remember.  They include:

  • Junior Boys Black Football (1st equal in Pool B)
  • 1st XI Girls Football (2nd in Division 1)
  • Table Tennis (1st in Division 1 and Division 2)
  • Boys’ 1st XI Hockey (3rd in Division 1)
  • Boys’ 2nd XI Hockey (3rd in Division 3)
  • Girls’ 2nd XI Hockey (3rd in Division 2)
  • Girls’ 3rd XI Hockey (1st equal in Division 4)
  • HNHS Mixed Hockey (1st in Boys Division 4)

Our netball teams are also competing admirably:

  • Senior A Girls’ Netball (1st in Super Secondary Division 2)
  • Junior A (1st in Jnr 2)
  • Senior B (1st in Snr 3)
  • Kea (1st in Snr 4)
  • Senior Social (1st in Social Grade)
  • Junior B (2nd in Jnr 3)
  • White (1st in Jnr 9)
  • Jade (3rd in Jnr 7).

Those are just a few of the highlights but of course the real highlight is the fact that over half of our school is involved in sport in some way or another.  Another highlight for me is the good-will offered by our teaching staff and parents. 

The national average for teacher involvement in secondary school sport last year was 29%.  Our rate was 70%.

SCHOOL REPORTS

Year 9 and 10 students and their families should have received the second Interim Report on Thursday last week.  A Progress Report containing assessment grades, attitude descriptors and teacher comments will be emailed at the end of week three, term three and just prior to the Parent Consultation Evening. 

Some families will be aware of the government’s move to use new descriptors to report on progress with the new curricula in English and Mathematics (and other areas from 2027). 

In 2026, our junior reports will not include these descriptors but will continue to report on assessments using grades as we have done previously.  At this stage, there is still uncertainty around the progress descriptors and until this is worked through, we have opted to ensure that our reports only display assessment grades that are moderated and offer certainty to families about student progress.   

Year 11 - 13 students and their families will receive a Progress Report on Sunday afternoon which follows the Entries Report sent earlier in the week.  The Entries Report is an important document and I hope every senior student has a copy of this hanging in their bedroom.  Keeping track of credits throughout the year and recognising the importance of every assessment are essential for success with NCEA. 


WINTER AILMENTS

There seems to be a few nasty bugs floating around at the moment and we have noticed a surge in the number of unwell students recently.  Of particular note have been the number of students who have had to be collected from school having returned to school before they are in good health.  I appreciate that the messages about maintaining regular school attendance could dissuade students from taking the time needed to make a full recovery.   A couple of quick points in this regard as we head into the depths of winter:


  • Students should stay away from school for 24 hours from the time they are symptom free.  This includes stomach upsets as well as colds and flus.    
  • Our student centre will only ask families to pick up students when it is inappropriate for them to be in class.  Please be accommodating of their request.  We cannot manage large number so of students in our sick bay nor can we return them to class when they are unwell so your help in getting them home to bed is much appreciated.     


Finally, good luck to our chamber music groups who are competing in the regional competition today and I encourage everyone to come along on Sunday afternoon when they will be performing alongside our school choirs.  Safe travels and good luck also to the HNHS Robotics Team who head to Canada to compete at the FTC Cup next week.


Joel Wilton

Principal

KEY DATES

  • Sunday, 7th June - Year 11 - 13 Progress Reports emailed home
  • Sunday, 7th June - Choir and Chamber Music Concert (3pm in Auditorium).  Gold coin koha on the door.
  • Tuesday, 9th June - Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Meeting - 7pm in staffroom
  • Saturday, 13th June - Smokefree Rockquest Regional Finals (7pm at Toitoi)
  • Monday, 15th - Friday, 26th June - Inter-house Football Competition
  • Tuesday, 16th June - Year 11 - 13 Parent Consultation Evening (online - school finishes at 1.00pm, consultations from 2.30 - 6pm)
  • Wednesday, 17th June - Big Sing Regionals
  • Monday, 29th June - Thursday, 2nd July - Talent Quest Heats (lunchtimes)
  • Thursday, 2nd July - Talent Quest Final (7.00pm in auditorium)
  • Friday, 3rd July - Last day of term two