Students and staff have been involved in many interesting teaching and learning opportunities at the Hillmorton High Provision

Halberg Top TeamOn Thursday, our students took part in a Halberg Top Team event at Nga Puna Wai sports complex. Working in teams, alongside students from the Wharenui primary provision, our pupils undertook a variety of water based activities where teamwork was vital to successfully complete the task. Everyone was involved and making the most of an exciting event outside of the class. 

Senior School HuiOn Monday this week we took part in a nationwide senior school hui to celebrate NZSL week. We had the opportunity to connect with other deaf students and provisions around the country and share their plans to promote NZSL within their partner schools. They also tested their mettle in a kahoot challenge against other schools, drawing on their knowledge of NZSL and its history. Our year 12 student Kiean came out on top, winning the Kahoot for the Hillmorton provision.

NZSL WeekTo promote NZSL week, our students at Hillmorton took time to share their knowledge and expertise in sign language with different whānau groups around the school. Working in groups of 2-3, students introduced themselves to classes using NZSL and ran a brief tutorial on the basics of the language. With many budding and future leaders in our provision, it was a great opportunity for students to demonstrate their leadership skills. Furthermore, many of the Hillmorton students really engaged with the opportunity to learn some sign language and develop their ability to communicate and engage with our students on a day to day basis.

A Big Day Out for our Year 9 StudentsPlanting harakeke, building quarry stone walls and hiking to the top of a 150 year old quarry – all in a day's work for our Year 9 students. On 20th May five students and four staff took to the hills in a convoy of buses with all the other Year 9 Hillmorton students and staff. The weather could not have been better with cloudless skies making the perfect backdrop to the photography and haiku competition. The history stories from the mining days of the quarry were informative, shocking and hillarious. We got to walk through the wee stone cottage that housed the 20 men who worked in the quarry. They had to share their bath water – all 20 of them! – and played poker to see who would go first. It was a great day with lots of games, laughter and new connections made between students.