Once again we can reflect on a busy term. We are proud of the many achievements of our students and I thank the staff for their continued commitment to the achievement and well being of our students. I hope you are following our regular updates through Facebook and Instagram.

At Hillcrest High School we welcome everyone in our community with open arms – come and explore our school at Open Day.

I want to talk about two problems that are affecting our society and our schools: violence and online bullying. It is our collective responsibility to tackle these issues and create a nurturing and inclusive community for everyone, particularly in our school.

As previously mentioned next Wednesday 28th June is a PPTA Paid Union Meeting.

As we head into Term 3, just a few reminders for our students and whaanau

Rainbows, community, and love are the focus of Pride Week, carried out by our Queer-Straight-Alliance Skittles each year during June.

Anti-bullying week was a great success! We were able to raise awareness on bullying and the importance of kindness and respect towards others in our school itself and our community.

In a display of student voice and leadership, our Head Students have set up a student led campaign for fair teacher pay.

This term, we took part in the 2023 World Vision 40 Hour Challenge to help kids who urgently need clean water.

25 teams from a range of year levels went head to head for the title of Quiz Champion at the Hillcrest Quiz Night on Monday 19th.

The Hillcrest High School Blood Drive took place last week with over 76 donations of blood.

Join us for an evening of glamour at the HHS 2023 Casino Royale ball!

On Friday 16th of June, Hillcrest hosted 14 schools (Early Childhood, Primary Schools, Middle Schools and High School).

The Mana Ōrite mō te Mātauranga Māori staff PLD group were joined this morning by Miss Lisa Campbell, who led the group through the process of cutting harakeke and weaving the strips into stars for Matariki.

Our Talent Crest Grand Final was a night of incredible entertainment!

Hillcrest is well known for producing wonderful singers, and we have recent alumni currently studying voice at Wintec, the University of Waikato, Australia and current students in the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir and entering voice competitions in the Waikato.

On Wednesday 14th June at 5:45am the day started for twenty senior Digital Technologies students, here is Zoe’s review from the trip:

The Art Department had its first Art Club of the year.

Over King's Birthday weekend, we took a group of 20 senior drama students down to the Capital for a weekend of shows, workshops and lots of fun!

In Week 8 our Year 12 Drama students presented their production of 'DNA' by Dennis Kelly.

In week 7, our Yr 9 Drama students presented their Reimagined Shakespeare perfomances

In this issue we are very proud to feature two form ILC students who have been selected and are currently attending the 2023 Summer Special Olympics in Berlin.

Who remembers 1981? The ill fated Springboks Tour, the infamous underarm bowling incident, NZ opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa singing at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, the longest running number one single of the year was Physical by Olivia Newton John.

Hillcrest High School has just concluded the delivery of two months of the Great Barrier Experience for Yr 10 students on Aotea/Great Barrier Island.

Hillcrest High School runners-up at 2023 New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Analytical Chemistry Competition

On Saturday the 17th of June, 10 French students, Mrs Howard-Shi and I met at the Hillcrest Auditorium to shoot a movie as part of a movie-making unit.

Year 12 Business Studies had a great market day last week with 12 teams selling baked goods, candles and beverages.

Our Tier One winter sports have been benefitting from the increased funding and expertise being put in over the course of the season so far. Thanks to the support of Grassroots Trust and Hillcrest New World these sports are going from strength to strength in the lead up to winter tournament week next term.

A few reminders to ensure that our sports are operating effectively.

Coached by teachers Mr Naden and Mr Laybourn, the boys U15 rugby team have had their first taste of success this season with a 36-21 win over HBHS White.

A number of Hillcrest players travelled to Napier at Kings Birthday weekend to attend the IPC Volleyball tournament.

Last weekend, Yr 11 Soichiro Yamaguchi and Wilkie Larke from Yr 12 participated in the North Island Kendo (Japanese fencing) Championships in the mix-gender team event.

Five of our boys volleyballers have tasted sweet success at the Inter-provincial championships (IPC).

We had 4 students compete at the WSS Champs last week.

Over the past week we've had teams competing in the EPro8 Engineering competition.

This is a new, exciting Gateway Programme we've just run for the first time and the students really enjoyed it.

Jessica Licht attended Debating Nationals in Wellington where she represented the Waikato Region.

On June 2nd 25 students attended the annual Arbor Day Community Planting at Waiwhakareke.

Between 25-27 May a group of senior Spanish students participated in the National Spanish Immersion Camp in Rotorua.

We had 12 teams selling at the Year 10 Enterprise Market Day here at school.