Kia ora koutou. As we close in on the end of Term 2, it is worth keeping in mind that for senior students (Years 11 to 13), we are now over half way through the academic year. This is because of the shorter Term 4 which allows external examinations to occur. For junior students, the halfway point is at the end of this term - which is not far away either.

Early next term I will be starting academic interviews with the senior students. This is a short (approximately 15 minutes) one-on-one discussion, mainly focused around the student’s academic progress towards their NCEA qualifications. I will also be discussing academic goals, attendance, and future pathways (either here at school or beyond that) and career choices. The tone of these interviews is intended to be positive, so even if a student has struggled with their learning so far, I can help them to get back on track and set some goals. It would be great if every student I talked to knows how many credits they currently have, and what upcoming assessments they have, before the interview starts. This is a great opportunity for you, as their whanau, to talk with your child about this. If you would like to know how to see your child’s NCEA results at any time, you can log in to the parent portal on our school website. Feel free to contact me if you aren’t sure how to access this. I will be taking notes during the academic interviews, and you will have access to see these notes as well.

The other big event that occurred this term was the Year 10 camps a couple of weeks ago. This year 10MB went on the first half of the week (Monday to Wednesday), along with students from 10TA and 10TB, while 10MA went on the second half of the week (Wednesday to Friday), along with students from 10RA and 10RB. Because we usually run our camps at this time of year, during winter, and because of the nature of the weather in New Zealand’s high country, we often encounter a fair bit of rain. However this year I can honestly say that we had the best weather I have experienced on a camp in all my time here at Hornby - almost 20 years! There was not a drop of rain, and hardly a cloud in the sky for the entire week. Because of the dry weather, however, we also had extremely cold mornings, and even during the day the temperature didn’t get above single digits, and the ground was frozen solid. I was very impressed by the way the students put on all their warm layers and got stuck into the activities throughout the days and into the evenings. A few particularly hardy students even decided a swim was a good idea! I thoroughly enjoyed my time at camp, and I hope the students did too. I have attached a few photos below.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Ngā mihi nui.

Phil Daines

Years 10 - 13 Mōhua Kāhui Dean

(03) 349 5396 ext. 923

da@hornby.school.nz