Kia ora koutou. Talofa. Kia Orana. Malo e lelei. Bula Vinaka. Fakaalofa atu. Namaste. Kumusta. Haere mai ki Te Kura Huruhuru Ao o Horomaka. Warm greetings to the Hornby High School community.

With this week’s commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Canterbury earthquakes we have all probably had cause to pause and reflect on the personal impact of those events on each of us. The impacts have been as many and varied as we are, as human beings. It is worth keeping in mind that just as we adults will have different responses to our memories of those events, so too will our rangatahi. Research has shown that even babies who were ‘in vitro’ at the time (that is, not yet born) will have suffered trauma and impacts from the 'quake events. If ever there was a time to be kind to one another it is now, although as I constantly tell our amazing tamariki, it is always time to be kind. Kindness is something that is ‘always in fashion’ (an adaptation of the words of Whāea Chris McLaren in her Deaning days).

Our year has certainly started with a roar and a bang, with our kura experiencing significant roll growth. We are already much larger than the Ministry of Education predicted, something which I take to signal growing community confidence in the quality of your local school. I see wonderful things happening in our curriculum and pastoral systems and delivery, and more than a few cool things taking shape in the sports and culture areas. We hope to have an exciting announcement on winter sports soon, but I daren’t let the cat out of the bag just yet, in case things don’t quite happen the way we hope. I’ll keep you all posted.

NCEA results for 2020 showed yet more improvement, particularly at the Merit and Excellence levels, with the proportion of Level 3 Excellences increasing by 67% over the year before. This tells us that student aspiration to do the best they can has leapt dramatically. Students want to be the best they can be, supported by staff who will accept nothing less than each student’s best.

We ended last year with the exciting news that two of our 2020 Year 13 students Manny (Head Boy), and Juanita (Prefect), had won scholarships to Otago Medical School. This is a wonderful recognition of their talent and their potential. They head into that next step in their exciting journey with our best wishes. Their aspiration to be doctors speaks volumes for them as people, and also for what they have taken from Te Huruhuru Ao o Horomaka Hornby High School.

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 website www.hornby.school.nz . You can also follow my thinking our education journey at Hornby High School, and more generally, on my blog at https://whakataukihewakaekenoa.blogspot.co.nz/

Kia tau te mauri

Robin Sutton

Tumuaki