We congratulate Mr Barclay and Mr Small on their appointments and know that our school will benefit very much by having them as part of our leadership team. Here is a little about each of these men.

I am an Old Boy of the school, my last year being in 1987. I graduated from Massey University and then Palmerston North Teachers' College. I have held teaching positions at Colenso High School and Central Hawke's Bay College before "coming home" to Hastings Boys' High School where I took up the position of Head of Department, Social Sciences.

During my time at our school, I have had various other roles such as Year 13 Dean, Teacher in Charge of Canoe Polo, and most recently IGCSE Administrator and Principal's Nominee to NZQA. I have also served on the Hastings Boys' High School Old Boys' Committee for a few years.

I am passionate about our kura and thoroughly enjoy teaching the subjects of Geography and Social Studies. I am looking forward to the challenge of leading, teaching and learning at our school and am excited about being part of a team that will continue to grow the academic and vocational pathways that are available to our students.

Ngā Mihi

Mr Greg Barclay

Tēnā koutou

Throughout my time at Hastings Boys' High School, I've had the privilege of making a meaningful impact on both the academic and cocurricular development of our students. Serving and leading as the Head of the Health and Physical Education department, I focused on creating an engaging, inclusive environment that fosters both individual growth and team spirit. Recently this role has allowed me to drive innovative programmes, such as the Ākina Sports Development Programme (ASDP) and the IGCSE Cambridge Physical Education programme both of which have offered students unique opportunities to grow in both character and capability.

Earlier on, in my role as the Specialist Classroom Teacher, I had the honour of guiding new teachers and facilitating professional development, sharing my experiences and knowledge to strengthen our teaching team and enhance the learning experience for our students. As chairman of the Hawkes Bay PENZ branch, I was fortunate to represent our school and present a paper at the National PENZ conference, highlighting the school’s accomplishments in character education. Additionally, my work on the EOTC policy and safety management plan demonstrated my commitment to maintaining a safe, enriching environment that extends beyond the classroom.

Cocurricular involvement has always been close to my heart, as I believe it enables staff to build connections with students that greatly enhance the learning experience. The relationships I’ve formed with students on and off the field have brought immense satisfaction and have reinforced my commitment to holistic student development.

Now, as I transition into my new role as Assistant Principal, I am eager to apply my leadership, strategic planning, and relationship-building skills to make a broader impact. This position is an exciting opportunity to shape school culture, support the professional growth of our teachers in the extra curricular field, and work collaboratively with the school community to nurture each student’s potential. I am looking forward to this next chapter with a deep sense of purpose and enthusiasm, ready to contribute to Hastings Boys' High School's future successes.
Ngā mihi nui,
Mr S Small

Our 2024 Senior Prizegiving was held in the school hall on Friday 1st November.

It was a very special occasion and one to celebrate all the academic achievements of our senior students. Congratulations to all prizewinners.

Please see the full prize list below.

Our school hall has been transformed into an" exam-sitting centre" as NZQA exams are well underway.

The Year 9 and 10 Business Studies classes had an outing on Thursday to a local business shining bright on the world stage! David Trubridge Lights in Whakatū create beautiful bamboo ply lightshades and furniture which is designed and made all on the one site at Whakatū and distributed to retailers locally and globally.

The business has the main material of bamboo ply sheets delivered to their door which is then sent off to be painted on one side in a colourway depending on the style of lightshade. There are many popular designs - mainly Coral, Floral, Nikau, Hinau in different sizes, and Toru, the newest shade added to the whānau of beautiful designs. We met with an in-house designer who was creating a new lightshade at the design stage on her computer.

Our trip focus was on business sustainability and social enterprise and Trubridge Lights certainly meets environmental standards with regard to business practice.

Under construction in the factory was a giant owl spanning 8.5 metres, commissioned for the Redwoods Lightshow in Rotorua. We also saw prototypes of new lights and a giant whale which had been commissioned for The National Aquarium.

The boys saw right through the factory operation from the ply sheets, the base cutting machine, trial studio and showroom, to fully made up and boxed packages about to be sent off to Paris. It was a very informative trip and we appreciate John Dinsdale, the Manager at Trubridge for taking the time to show us through.

Mrs L Cotter-Arlidge

Congratulations to all the young men who have put time and effort into the Hastings Boys’ High Basketball Academy this year. We are happy to announce that we have seven Junior 3x3 teams entered into our Hawke’s Bay 3x3 Junior Tournament which will be held on Friday 8th November at the Centennial Hall in Napier.

What a great position to be in, knowing the talent, and how popular basketball is at Hastings Boys’ High School. The tournament is hosted by Basketball Hawke’s Bay, so Friday night will be jam-packed with entertainment for our young men. Good luck to our teams competing, and remember to uphold our ĀKINA MAN VALUES

Coach Spooner

We have quite a few teams away for our Junior Tournament week all over the country. Good luck and safe travel to all of them.

• Saturday 16 - Sunday 17 November - Canoe Polo Jun A & Jun B at NZSS Junior Canoe Polo Cup - Mitre 10 Park, Frimley, Hastings
• Sunday 17 November - Friday 22 November - Volleyball Junior at NISS Volleyball Champs - Bruce Pullman Arena, Takanini, Auckland
  
• Friday 15 - Tuesday 19 November - Basketball Nationals Junior 3x3 Champs, Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
• Monday 18 November - Thursday 21 November - Colts Cricket - NBHS Tournament (played at home)
  
• Friday 29 November - Sunday 1 December - NZSS Condor 7's Open Rugby - Mount Maunganui

On 1 November, at our Senior Prizegiving two more Old Boys were inducted onto our Wall of Fame.

These two men truly embody what it means to be an Ākina Man.

Mr Hill was a student at Hastings Boys' High School from 1958 - 1962. He was involved in cricket and rugby throughout his years at school and in his last year he was the Captain of the schools 3rd XI Cricket Team.

He is a retired senior career diplomat in the New Zealand Foreign Ministry. In the course of his 42 years in the diplomatic service, Mr Hill served as a New Zealand diplomat with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). He was the New Zealand Ambassador to Russia, having previously served in that position from 2009 to 2012.

Mr Hill is also accredited to Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Tajikzstan and Uzbekistan. Previous to his current appointment, Mr. Hill was the Divisional Manager- Europe in the New Zealand MFAT from 2012 to 2016. Mr Hill also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington D.C. (2004-2009), and in earlier assignments as New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga, and in the New Zealand diplomatic missions in London and Fiji. Mr Hill was also the Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser in Wellington from 1993 to 1995.

Mr Hill completed his master's degree in history at the University of Canterbury in 1979. His thesis was titled "The Twilight of the Augustan Repose: Workings of Hanoverian politics, 1754-1757.

We are honoured to induct Mr Ian Hill onto our Wall of Fame.

Mr McEwan was educated at Hastings Boys' High School from 1971-1975. He was involved in Basketball, Swimming, Athletics and Rugby and was a prefect in his final year. After leaving school he attended Massey University, where he completed a degree in business studies and human resources, despite having failed an accountancy module twice. He later earned a Master in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Mr McEwan's first top management position was as CEO of Axa New Zealand from 1996 to 2002] He had spent the previous ten years at National Mutual New Zealand. McEwan was then appointed CEO of First NZ Securities, the stockbroking arm of First NZ Capital Securities,] the New Zealand affiliate of Credit Suisse Group.

In 2003 Mr McEwan was hired as group executive for retail banking services for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). He had been expected to become the next CEO of CBA, but was passed over for the post in 2011. McEwan joined RBS in August 2012 as head of retail banking.

In July 2019 Mr McEwan was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director on the National Australia Bank

In February of this year McEwan retired from executive roles after a distinguished career in financial and insurance services.

We are honoured to induct Mr Ross McEwan onto our Wall of Fame.

Hastings 4120

Ph: +64 6 873 0365
email: paoffice@hastingsboys.school.nz

http://www.hastingsboys.school.nz