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

As always it is an absolute pleasure to welcome students and whānau back to Hornby High School, and to welcome new students and whānau. We are tremendously proud of our students, our staff, our kura, and our community, all filled with boundless possibility.

We were thrilled to see once again improving academic results from the previous year, with an Outstanding Scholarship for Jaime, and a second scholarship for Nathan (who also gained a Scholarship pass in Year 12). They are featured elsewhere in this newsletter.

We are also thrilled to have students participating in the new First Fifteen rugby team, a combined team with Hillmorton High School and Riccarton High School, competing in the new Tier 2 competition of the Miles Toyota Cup. It has been an aspiration of mine to see us participating in rugby competition at this top level. Sitting alongside basketball and volleyball teams competing in these same top tiers, we have clear signs that sport is blooming at Hornby High School.

I see preparation already beginning for the development of a new Sheila Winn Shakespeare Competition, and there is the fantastic news too that Kapahaka is back after a long search for a tutor… ka mau te wehi, e hoa mā!!

A major innovation this year is the extension of our wānanga classes to include classes for students who choose a Māori or Pasifika focus for their wānanga time. As a result, entries for the Polyfest event this year are at a record high!!

These new things reflect the spirit of risk taking that we want from our rangatahi and kaiako, risk taking that is vital as we steer towards our vision as ‘he puna auaha, a centre of creative excellence’.

In my early assembly addresses to students I have been emphasizing the importance of kindness in our daily interactions with others. I have also spoken to groups about the problems with social media. If I were asked to guess, I’d say well over 75% of all of the conflict we have to resolve at school has started on social media, outside of school time. It is a huge issue. Of course we can’t ‘put the genie back in the bottle’. We are stuck with social media, and so the next best thing we can all do is to counsel our young people on the responsible use of social media. Here are my ‘top tips’:

• Never say anything on social media that you wouldn't say to someone in person.

• Think twice before posting anything on social media.

• NEVER post anything on social media when angry.

• If in doubt, say nothing

• Be kind!!!

And let’s remember that it is against the terms and conditions of most social media providers to have an account when under the age of 13. In my opinion, even at that age, given the state of brain development for adolescents, social media is a dangerous thing.

Please limit your children’s access to social media. It makes a positive difference. We will be sharing some interesting data we have gathered from amongst our own students on the difference that this can make.

This is going to be an amazing year filled with achievement across a wide range of activities. Bring it on!!!