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.

Ma te huruhuru, ka rere te manu

Feathers enable the bird to fly

The end of any school year is always filled with a mix of joy and sadness. The joy comes from seeing the amazing achievements that our rangatahi have gained. That’s our ‘core business’, what we are all about. The sadness comes from saying goodbye to some of the amazing rangatahi that we have known, whose minds we have fed, and whose souls we have nurtured, for anything up to seven years. Our sadness is something akin to grieving, for we feel a sense of loss as these amazing young people leave us for one final time, and this year’s seniors, our Year 13s in particular, we will indeed miss.They have shown heart and kindness, caring and curiosity, ‘in spades’. We have watched them grow from Year 8s to Year 13s, from 12 year olds to 18 year olds, we have watched them become curious and caring adults, adults that we are proud to set free into the world. We wish them well.

This is the ‘Charge’ that I read to our Year 13 leavers. That is, this is what we set them free to achieve in our communities, in our world:

As Principal I say to you on behalf of the community of Hornby High School 

Go well in your journey of life, always aware that you are born to love others and to be loved by others, nurtured by their presence.

Never forget the benefits that you have received from your time here at Hornby High School. It is a foundation from which to flourish.

Always have at the forefront of your mind the needs of others as you seek to serve the greater good. Take with you the knowledge and understanding that you have gained in this place, determined to change the world for the better.

Remember, you are the legacy of Hornby High School and you carry the name of your school wherever you go and whatever you do.

I charge you with this responsibility on behalf of all students of this school - past, present, and future.

(My thanks to Christ’s College for the inspiration for our Leavers’ Charge.)

It has been written to try and bring together the things we most hope for our young people, the young people you entrusted to us as children. Thank you for your trust in us. Ours is a responsibility that we take very seriously. We may not always get it right, but we always try to improve what we do.

If you have children with us in 2020, we hope you will take the opportunity to join us in person as your children embark on a very exciting new curriculum journey. Please make yourselves known in your kura, please take advantage of the opportunities on offer to come into your kura, to engage in your child’s learning. Together we can achieve so much.

He waka eke noa!!!

I take this opportunity to wish all members of our community a safe, happy, and restful, summer. We look forward to seeing you all back in 2020.

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

Tumuaki