Kia ora all and welcome back to another year! Four weeks in and I am pleased to report that the majority of our Year 10’s are making really good choices and prioritising their learning.

Most have arrived with a positive attitude and all the equipment they need to go. Thank you to those Whānau who have made an effort to equip their learners with chromebooks, I believe now that all licences have been put onto these devices and they are ready for classroom use. If your learner is still waiting on their device to be connected to the network please let me know so I can chase it up.

The start of the year is as good a time as any to remind everyone of our school definition of bullying. At Hornby, bullying is defined as behaviour that is:

• Deliberate

• Repetitive

• An imbalance of power

• Causes harm

Unfortunately, we have already seen a serious case of cyber bullying among our Year 10s so I ask that you take some time to chat with your learner about the importance of being kind and sensible online. As a cohort, we have talked about how to manage bullying issues through social media. Students have been advised to screenshot inappropriate content and bring it to a safe adult and to leave groups or chats in which bullying behaviour is promoted. I hope this incident was a one off and that our students uphold our value of respect.

Year 10 is an important year for students to develop their self management skills around learning. Over the next four terms I hope to see students focussing in class, ensuring their work is up to date and taking as many of the opportunities our kura offers. 

I will leave you with some awesome photos from 10Rn’s mathematics class with the wonderful Ms Beaunaventura. 

Sarah Handley
Year 10 Dean
rc@hornby.school.nz