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.

Welcome to term 2, a term that will be more momentous than any since the early days of the school. This is the term when stage 1 of our whole school rebuild will be completed. Stage 1 of the rebuild is on track for practical completion by Queen’s Birthday 5 June. Then the process of inspections for the issuance of the Certificate of Public Use begins. We expect to be able to start shifting items into different parts of the buildings after that, but will not be occupying and using the building until after our official blessing. The blessing is scheduled for Friday 6 July, at 8am, and everyone is welcome. Watch out for more details of this, and the official opening which is tentatively set down for Friday 3rd August.

There is a notice in this newsletter on our special closure scheduled for 4th to 6th July to allow the main part of the shift to occur.

We have been doing a lot of work around further improvements to our student reporting to you all. There is a piece in this newsletter on changes in our student reporting too.

Our 2018 information evening is scheduled for Tuesday 15th May at 7.00pm. We will also be holding tours of our new facilities once they are open in term 3. Watch out on our web page and our Facebook page for more details.

Amongst the many initiatives that we undertake to support student wellbeing was the recent day long ‘Loves-me-not’ programme. This was delivered on Friday 4 May by NZ Police and the Sophie Elliott Foundation. Here is the description of the programme from the Sophie Elliott Foundation web page: "Loves-Me-Not uses a whole school approach and a one-day workshop for Year 12 students to explore healthy relationships and the sometimes difficult subject of relationship abuse and consent." You can find out more about the programme by clicking on this link.

As I walk around the school and through classrooms I continue to be impressed by the calm focussed learning environments that we maintain within the school. Our most important work in this regard rests with staff who work tirelessly to build and maintain positive relationships for learning. I am also impressed with the transformations that I see take place with our rangatahi. The changes are often small and subtle on a daily basis, but I continue to see young people transformed. There are powerful forces at work here for all rangatahi.

We always take bullying seriously at Hornby High School, and sitting back thinking ‘everything is rosy in the garden’ is not an option. In 2017 we introduced the KiVa positive behaviour/anti bullying initiative into Years 7 and 8. Our end of year research showed that the programme has had significant positive impact on student behaviour, and we are rolling this through into Year 9 this year (where most students will of course have been a part of the programme last year in Year 8). Here is a link to a great article on the success of the programme across all New Zealand schools that have introduced the programme. The programme is a great addition to our ‘Positive Behaviour 4 Learning’, and 'Restorative Practice’ initiatives, all of which are essential to maintaining our fantastic school culture and climate focussed on learning.

Finally, let me say again how appreciative we are of those whānau who invest in digital devices for their children. You have shown great foresight in supporting your children’s growth and education. We know that this often means sacrifices for families, but the effects these devices have on your children’s learning are huge. We keep citing the evidence: student progress in writing accelerates at TWICE the national averages for all children over a three year period. Reading and mathematics progress at one and a half times national averages. The tragedy is that students without devices are disadvantaged in the modern world. If your child does not have a Chromebook, and you need a helping hand, please don’t hesitate to contact Jon Rogers (DP). We can help. This is too important to ignore.

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 new 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/ .

And remember that we are all only a phone call away if you have any concerns.

Ngā mihi nui

Robin Sutton