Kia ora whānau. I was away when the last newsletter was prepared so this is my first contribution to the Hornby High School newsletter for 2020, so welcome everyone to the new year (even though we are already halfway through Term 1!)

Athletics Day

Last Thursday we had our annual Athletics Day, and it was the first chance for students from Mōhua to show our colours. I was delighted to see so much yellow and gold around the school, and all Mōhua students really showed the school what it means to be part of our kāhui. The Athletics Day was a huge success thanks to the hard work of Mr Hilliard and the PE Department, but I also want to express my sincere thanks to this year’s group of student leaders for Mōhua. Our student leaders this year are:

• Anaru, Year 12

• Nadia, Year 11

• Driaan, Year 11

• Nidhi, Year 11

• Tobey, Year 9

• Hannah, Year 8

Attendance

There are a number of students who are regularly late to school at the beginning of the day. I know this is often due to circumstances beyond their control, but regular lateness can have a large impact on students’ learning.

Starting from next week I will be running a lateness detention each Monday at lunchtime with students who have either arrived late to school or late to class more than three times in the previous week. The detention will last for half of lunchtime. If you would like to check your child's attendance, you can use the Parent Portal on our website or the Hornby High School App (go to SchoolApps NZ to download).

Wānanga Barbeque

This Thursday (12th March) is our first Wānanga BBQ. The event begins at 5.00pm and will finish around 7:00pm. There will be some food (although you should bring along your own picnic dinner as well), performances and you will get to talk to teachers.

While this is not a compulsory school event, in Mōhua we have been working hard on our waiata performance and it would be great if we had a strong presence at the barbeque. Please come along with your whānau and enjoy this great social occasion. Please contact the school office to RSVP so we know how many people to cater for on the day.

I think that is all at present, but please feel free to contact me (by email at mt@hornby.school.nz) if you would like to discuss anything I have said or if you have any areas of concern. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Thursday.

Ngā mihi
Terry Mitchell
Mōhua Kāhui Dean