Hero photograph
Sn
 
Photo by Andrea Wall

Principal's Report

Robin Sutton —

Kia ora koutou. Talofa. Kia Orana. Malo e lelei. Bula. Fakaalofa atu. Namaste. Kumusta. Haere mai ki Te Kura Huruhuru Ao o Horomaka. Warm greetings to the Hornby High School community.

The year has begun in fine form. Progress on stage 2 of our construction is cracking along at an incredible pace. Our wonderful rangatahi are settling in to classes, and learning is happening. Sports and cultural activities are already gearing up, and we are in week 4, staggered by where the first three weeks of the year and the term have gone.

Our start of year highlights, our Mihi Whakatau, new entrant open afternoon and barbeque, and our Academic Awards assembly, have been and gone, all fine events that reflect the humanity and the manaaki (the kindness and caring) of our kura.

We gathered some fascinating information on what you want from our sports programmes and we’ll share that information with you very soon. Be sure to let us know what you think.

Just landed in my email inbox last week was the achievement data for our Year 7 to 10 children in writing, reading, and maths over the past three years. The data is gathered and analysed by the Woolf Fisher Research Centre of Auckland University as they track the impact of Manaiakalani on our learners. Manaiakalani is a pedagogy (a way of causing learning) expressed as ‘Learn Create Share'), with the pedagogy ‘amplified’ using Chromebooks. The digital technology allows us to cause learning in more diverse and authentic ways than was ever possible before.

The writing results are astounding (there really is no other word for them). It would be fair to say that after three years we are on average lifting the writing of our children from well below that of all children nationally to significantly above all children nationally. This is extraordinary stuff, and we are very proud of what our incredible tamariki are doing.

If you haven’t yet been able to make the investment in a Chromebook for your child, I urge you to try. We have publicised a new finance deal that makes a Chromebook much more affordable than ever before, at $4.22 per week over three years. Apart from your time and love, there is no more powerful an investment you can make in your child’s education than this.

There is however still work to be done in reading and maths, and in 2019 we will be implementing effective programmes that were trialled in 2018. These programmes complement and reinforce our ‘Learn Create Share’ pedagogy. We are determined that all learners come as close to realising their full potential as we can take them.

Finally, my overriding message for everyone this year, is that of kindness, of manaakitanga. Our wellbeing is enhanced when we give kindness. Kindness has an almost magical property in that the more we give away the more we receive. So by giving it away we are richer, not poorer. This enhanced wellbeing is essential to establishing cultural identity for each of us, to improved achievement, to sporting success, to a better more fulfilled life, and that goes for everyone regardless of age.

Please join us in practising kindness. I am determined that this will be a central theme to all of our values, and all of our work, in our wonderful kura. Join us as we continue our amazing journey. There is much to be done, and much to celebrate.

Please make sure you follow us on Facebook for the latest and most up to date news https://www.facebook.com/hornbyhighschool/ , and on our website www.hornby.school.nz . You can also follow my thinking on education at Hornby High School, and more generally, on my blog at https://whakataukihewakaekenoa.blogspot.co.nz/

Nga mihi nui

Robin Sutton