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. 

Success breeds success. Term 3’s end to the winter sports season has seen some wonderful successes and worthy celebrations. Our junior boys’ League team won the Christchurch Schools competition, our Year 9/10 Girls' and Year 7 /8 Boys' Basketball teams won their respective grade competitions, and senior boys' and girls' Basketball teams travelled away to play at national tournaments. 

These successes have given a great boost to the confidence of many of our learners. We know that an important element of our journey towards creative excellence is to encourage students to be greater risk takers with their learning (whether the context is academic, cultural or sporting activity). These successes give students greater confidence to give new things a go. 

We have already been celebrating the achievements of students who have gained their relevant NCEA levels, these achievements are, in a number of cases, significantly ahead of what we might normally expect in any school, a sign of students focussed on their academic goals. At NCEA level, results that are accumulating for internal standards continue to track ahead of last year. These successes come when we are well grounded in our school values of Commitment, Achievement, Resilience, and Respect. 

I talk regularly to students in assemblies about those values, what they look like, and the benefits they receive when they try to follow those values. I encourage you to talk openly with your tamariki about what it looks like, feels like, sounds like, when we are demonstrating our values. 

The school rebuild continues, although slightly behind schedule at this stage (by 2-3 weeks) after the wet August weather. Over the next few weeks concrete pours will be completed for floor slabs in the main building, and gymnasium, and you will start to see steel frames rising up from the ground. 

Staff are working hard on the development of the new pedagogies that they will be using in the new spaces. Their work is focussed on improving learning for students not only in the ways in which they learn, but also by allowing students to follow their own individualised pathways. This is all about making learning more accessible for every learner, more relevant for every learner, and more engaging for every learner. More engaged learners are more successful learners. 

Please make sure you follow us on Facebook for the latest and most up to date news https://www.facebook.com/hornbyhighschool/ , and remember that we are all only a phone call away if you have any concerns. Ngā mihi nui Robin Sutton