Mālō e lelei, kia ora,
What a busy couple of weeks! We ended last week with the Year 9 Disco, which was a blast. Hundreds of Year 9 students attended, and I must say, I think the Year 13s who came along to help had even more fun than the juniors! Thank you to our Junior School Leaders, Josh Goodfellow (13JD) and Clara Archibald (13JD), and the Year 13 team. They demonstrated our school's values from the disco set-up to the clean-up! It's always wonderful to see the spirit of community and support among our students, especially at events like these.
Our Junior Year 9-10 Netball Team competed strongly at the Wider Wellington Regional Tournament. Finishing 6th is a fantastic achievement, and we're incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication. Best of luck to all our senior netball teams heading into finals this weekend. Fingers crossed that the forecast rain stays away and we can enjoy some great games.
Excitement is building for our school musical, 'Sweet Dreams' which starts next week. Tickets have been in high demand, and it's heartening to see such strong support for our talented actors, dancers, and musicians. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this production possible - your energy and creativity are truly inspiring.
Next week is Tongan Language Week. Check out their website, which has helpful resources for learning some basic words and greetings.
On the facilities front, our weather tightness project is progressing well. The Deans, who have been temporarily relocated to the portacoms on the front lawn, will soon be moving back into their newly renovated, leak-free offices. As the work continues, you’ll notice the tent covering the main admin block shift westward to cover my office and the board room as we focus on another section of the building. The fenced-off area below the staffroom at the front of the school is for a new fire egress stairwell that needs to be added. The hall is also covered in scaffolding and fencing and is getting a makeover. We are repairing weatherboards and waterproofing flat roof areas as the Ministry tries to eke out many more years of life from the old building, which was constructed in the 1930s.
The old gym is also getting repaired. This is one of a couple of buildings the school owns, so it is a school-led and paid-for project. We have been saving up money for a few years. Dux Quest Piping impacted the changing rooms surrounding the building by leaking into the wall cavities and causing mould, which contaminated the space. The gym itself is beautiful and made of solid native timbers. Thank you to Rhys Finlay (Rhys Finlay Contractors), a former student and local resident, who is helping us with our plans to transform this gym into a fitness centre. I’d love to hear from anyone who can help me with the setup and fit out of the fitness centre. We plan to make this into a community space.
Looking ahead, I wanted to give you a heads-up about next year’s school Board elections. As is often the case, we may have positions available as current Board members move on when their children graduate. The Board recently co-opted two Māori Whānau Representatives, and we are thrilled to have their knowledge, experience, and passion at the table. They are already working with whānau on the school’s Māori Strategy. Looking forward, we might seek community members with finance, accounting, policy, or governance expertise. If you’re interested or would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Nofo ā, Ngā mihi nui,
Denise Johnson, Principal
Hutt Valley High School was fortunate to receive a grant from the Four Winds Foundation for $4,000 to purchase additional sports equipment for students to use during break times and in PE classes.
This funding has allowed us to purchase pickleball sets, outdoor volleyball nets and bases and sports gear, including basketballs, touch balls, footballs, ultimate discs and volleyballs. We greatly appreciate Four Wind Foundations continued support of our school.
- Giselle Charleson (11MO)
Recently, our Junior Book Club and Year 11 Literacy Group went on their annual Books Alive trip. This trip was really fun, and a great opportunity for anyone interested in reading and writing.
To start, we went to Unity Books, a Wellington bookstore. We had time to browse, ask the booksellers questions and buy books. We all found a book we could enjoy.
After stopping for some lunch, our group walked to the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, where we met some of our country’s greatest authors, such as Tessa Duder, Michaela Keeble and Steve Mushin. Michaela Keeble’s book, Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai, won the picture book award and Steve Mushin’s book, Ultrawild, won the Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award. We were lucky to ask them questions about their careers, and it was inspiring to hear about their different journeys in becoming published authors. We also managed to get our HVHS copies of their books signed!
We participated in a character writing workshop with Eileen Merriman, author of Catch a Falling Star. She taught us the fundamentals of making any character and challenged us to make our own. This was important for readers to see more sides of a character, and for writers, it was a chance to improve their writing.
As a Year 11 student, this is my last year participating in the Books Alive trip. Though I'm sad this tradition will be ending, it was wonderful to see the number of new people with a passion for literature join this year's trip. I can only hope that the Junior Book Club, Year 11 Literacy Group and our school's love for reading and writing will continue to grow.
Our talented Year 12 students are excited to introduce their latest creations! Visit Soul Sweets at the Riverbank Market on Saturday 24 August and treat yourself to delicious lemon, vanilla, and zucchini chocolate cupcakes.
Each cupcake comes with an uplifting affirmation, adding a little extra positivity and happiness to your day.
Our students would love your support. You can follow their business and new product developments on their Instagram page to learn more.
A huge thank you to New Zealand Community Trust, who approved a $10,000 grant to help Hutt Valley High School teams compete at the National Secondary Schools' Winter Sports Tournament Week.
This funding will go towards reducing travel and accommodation costs for our teams and helping to remove financial barriers to students competing in sports at a National level.
Homework Club is for students who don’t speak English at home. It offers assistance and support with school assignments and homework.
Homework Club runs every Wednesday from 3:15pm to 5:15pm in the Library at Hutt Valley High School. This club is open to all high school students (Years 9-13), all subjects, and all levels. Students simply need to bring their homework and snacks are also provided.
This Club is run by KiwiClass, an organisation dedicated to helping former refugees and new migrants in the Wellington region. Homework Club is free to attend.
For more information or any questions on Homework Club please email Jamie Casley (Literacy Coordinator) at jamie.casley@hvhs.school.nz
Every year we see a number of students who are coming to school who haven't had breakfast and are without kai for the day. This year is no exception. Some of the charities that have provided support for students in the past are no longer able to provide this service and we are reaching out to our school community to see if this is something you as a whānau would like to help with.
Donations of grab-and-go foods such as muesli bars, spreads for sandwiches or anything that fills a hungry tummy would be greatly appreciated. Families are welcome to drop any donations at the School Office anytime from 8:00am - 4:00pm Monday to Friday during term time.
Please contact Claire Ross (claire.ross@hvhs.school.nz ) from our Wellbeing Team if you would like to help.
Enrolments for 2025 are open for in-zone applications for Years 9-13 and out-of-zone applications for Years 10-13. Please note that out-of-zone applications for Year 9 have now closed, and we are no longer accepting applications.
All enrolments are now completed online. Please go to the enrolment page to find the online enrolment form and key enrolment deadlines.
We strongly encourage parents and caregivers to enrol their child as early as possible. This allows us to plan for their learning needs and ensure a smooth transition to high school. An added benefit of enrolling now is that your child will be in the first group to receive the email with subject selections (many subjects have limited spaces).
If you have any questions, please email our Enrolment Coordinator, Lesley Mackay at lesley.mackay@hvhs.school.nz
Contact Information
Email: office@hvhs.school.nz
Website: hvhs.school.nz
Location: Hutt Valley High School Woburn Road, Woburn, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Phone: 04 566 4584