HVHS Term 2 Week 3
Newsletter 24 May 2021
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Kia ora koutou
The second NCEA Accord was on Tuesday 11 May. The Ministry of Education has six more teacher only days scheduled over the next three years to ease the workload around the NCEA changes. The changes are pretty significant. They are the first substantial changes since the qualification was introduced in 2002. There is an awful lot for staff to get their heads around to be ready for complete implementation in 2023.
Some of the changes are:
Making NCEA more accessible by removing fees
Designing achievement standards that are accessible and inclusive so that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve, especially those requiring SAC (Special Assessment Conditions)
Developing more subjects to ensure that te ao Māori pathways are acknowledged and supported equally in NCEA (e.g. Māori Performing Arts, which we offer at HVHS, but is not yet assessed with achievement standards)
Strengthening literacy and numeracy requirements and assessments. This will include literacy and numeracy assessments offered to students from Year 9 onwards
Fewer, larger standards which cover a broader range of knowledge, skills and capabilities. Each standard will be worth 4-6 credits, with a total of 20 credits per subject. This aspect, in particular, requires a lot of change for staff
A decrease in the workload associated with excessive assessment and marking - 60 credits only will be required to pass each NCEA level
Creating a new 'graduate profile' for each level of NCEA to describe what a student awarded an NCEA will know and can do. NCEA Level 1 prepares students with the skills they need for life, including functional literacy and numeracy, and gets them ready for Level 2. NCEA Levels 2 and 3 provide students with further opportunities to specialise and deepen their knowledge and skills. Graduate profiles will also include expectations around te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori.
Update on the weather tightness issues of our school buildings
The Ministry of Education continues to work closely with us on immediate remediation. The places with noisy air scrubbers going during the day over the last two weeks have moved to a much more palatable regime where air scrubbers operate overnight instead. We have moved the Technology Department and three other staff back into their classrooms after remediation work. The Ministry is now assessing what to fix and focus on next. Alongside this, the plan for moving relocatable portacoms onto the school site is progressing - albeit a lot slower than we would like. We are hopeful of better news about the timelines next week.
The Market Grove Hub is getting a lot of use. It is so much easier working alongside others. I do encourage those students feeling a little unmotivated about working from home to go to the Hub - it will help. The senior team will put out a survey to all Year 12 and Year 13 students every three weeks. I encourage students to complete it. It gives us an idea of how things are going for you and whether you need additional assistance.
Satellite Hubs - Year 12 and Year 13 survey results (End of week 2)
87% of students feel welcomed into their online lessons
95.7% of students report that their teachers are prepared or mostly prepared for lessons
86.3% of students claim that their teachers are available online for the whole spell
74.8% of students say the amount of work is about right
Just under 50% have used the Hub.
Summary from HUB staff - Week 3
The students who come to the Hub are telling us that it's a great place to be. They are saying that they like the choice of where and how they can work. With a choice of small, closed-off office spaces and open communal areas, students are able to find the place that works for them. Some choose to work individually, but most choose to work alongside their friends. Most students report that they are finding the environment conducive to learning and that they are achieving more than they would at home.
The numbers of students attending the Hub each day varies. There are regular groups of students who come in on their work-from-home days, with more new faces coming in each day. We've noticed that weather can make a difference to how many students are here. There seem to be more Year 12 students coming on Mondays and Tuesdays than Year 13's on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays are the busiest days overall, with Year 12 and Year 13 using the Hub for half a day each.
Students also seem to enjoy the ability to come and go as they please. There is hot water and a microwave available for them to use also. The vending machine in the foyer is also popular.
Some teachers are coming in to run their lessons from the Hub. They sit with students and provide extra support whilst also connecting with their online students in the same class. We've had visitors from the Ministry of Education, and some teachers have also visited with their classes.
We're working hard to provide a welcoming, calm place for students to work, learn and connect, and we are pleased with how things are going so far.
Lauren, Karen and Alanna (Hub teachers)
Open Evening is this Wednesday at 6.00 pm. We are looking forward to welcoming a new cohort of students to the school.
Ngā mihi
Denise Johnson
Acting Principal
SPOTLIGHT ON A LEARNING AREA - Technology
The technology department had a very busy and exciting start to the year.
Starting with the W-block renovation. This will become three new workshops, CAD room and break out space
Mechanical Engineering trip to Weltec
The Year 11 and 12 Mechanical Engineering classes attended Weltec to carry out the welding part of their projects. Every welding bay at the campus was filled for two days per week over a 4 week period.
The students from all of the 4 groups who attended were given a brief tour of the Weltec workshops and put through a compulsory health and safety course. Then they were let loose on the amazing MIG welding equipment and facilities to create a vast array of outcomes such as rocket stoves, tables, chairs, stools, etc. At break time they swaggered down to the cafeteria, overalls rolled down, steel toe capped boots clomping on the ground, looking like old hands. A great time was had by all, including teachers and teacher’s aides! Some students who finished early also got the chance to try out the TIG welders. Once back at the workshop in school all of the students were keen as anything to grind down their welds and finish the construction of their projects.
Technology Projects
Many of our courses have just completed their first projects for the year.
In the year 11 Digital Technology (DTEC) course the students have finished designing and developing a website on a topic of their choice. Here is a sample of some of the websites developed.
Tashie Peters - https://website-assessment-tashiepeters.11dtecgl.repl.co/
Bobby Ma - https://bobby-ma-as91880-website-assessment.11dtecgl.repl.co/
Wina Presto - https://as91880-webassessment-winaprasetyo.11dteclo.repl.co/l
Aadi Prashar - https://as91880-website-assessment-aadiprashar.11dtecgl.repl.co/
The students in Year 11 Product design Technology (PTEC) have been making a small tensegrity table which gives the illusion that the tabletop is floating. This is the first time we have run this project and we couldn’t be happier with the outcomes.
The students in Year 12 Product Design Technology have been working to complete a construction standard where they make a charging station with a structural and aesthetic feature.
Year 12 DVCO classes are progressing well with their small space design project at the moment. The on-line lessons are well attended and we are having fun making models in class time. Here is a snippet for the fantastic work they are producing.
The Year 11 Furniture Making class have been working on developing their skills in using hand tools and hand joints by producing dovetail joints in their wooden tool boxes.
The Year 12 Furniture Making class are making Bedside cabinets to develop skills in accuracy of larger scale Furniture items.
Congratulations
Well Done Malka! Malka Magno Year 10 entered the Capital Photographer of the Year 2021 with four photos and was named a Semifinalist for two of her entries. Malka used photographs she took as part of her course work in Term 1. Awesome work, the Visual Art Department is proud of you!
Information Evening 2021
The HVHS 2021 evening will be held for all parents/caregivers and their students, who are interested in attending Hutt Valley High School in 2022
Hutt Valley High School Hall
Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 6.00 pm
There will be introductions and brief addresses plus guided tours of the school and advice on programmes
Careers Expo Event - Lower Hutt Event Centre
Careers Expo Event - Lower Hutt Event Centre, 30c Laings Road
Wednesday 26 May 9.00 am - 4.00 pm and
Thursday 27 May 9.00 am - 3.00 pm.
Families are invited to attend the careers expo event - He Ara Hou - which has been organised by HVHS and four other local Hutt Valley secondary schools in partnership with the Hutt City Council and Chamber of Commerce.
It is a careers expo targeted at career pathway options that do not require a university qualification.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Scholarship Exams
Information About the Exams:
NZ Scholarship Exams assess students against the most challenging standards in each subject. Assessment is mainly through an exam which is part of the end of year NCEA Exam timetable, or through the submission of work in a portfolio or report.
There are monetary awards for gaining a scholarship in a subject and greater awards if the results are outstanding or a student is successful across a number of subjects. The awards are for students going on to study at a Tertiary Institution in NZ. The money is paid to the institution towards the student's fees.
Although the majority of the scholarship exams are completed by Year 13 students, a scholarship can be achieved by a student in Year 12 - with the money held over until the student attends a Tertiary Institution in the coming years.
How to enter the exams:
If you wish to be entered in a scholarship exam/portfolio for your subject(s) please do the following:
- Inform your subject teacher that you want to do the scholarship exam and talk to them about what this involves
- Email Mr Larkin (nick.larkin@hvhs.school,nz) stating the scholarship subject(s) you wish to be entered in.
- The last chance to enter for the scholarship exams or be removed from the exams is Friday 27 August
Upcoming Events
- Year 12 Trail Building Project - Tuesday 25 May
- Open Evening - Wednesday 26 May, 6.00 pm
- Board of Trustees Meeting - Wednesday 26 May, 6.30 pm
- Non-uniform Day - Wednesday 2 June
- Year 9 Disco - Thursday 3 June
Contact Us
Email: principal@hvhs.school.nz
Website: https://www.hvhs.school.nz
Location: Woburn Road Lower Hutt, 5010 Wellington
Phone: +64 4 560 1568
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hvhs.school.nz