Kia ora koutou,

Our Year 9 camp is underway at Kaitoke Regional Park and we are excited to offer our students the chance to step outside the classroom and create lasting memories with friends and teachers. This year, we have planned various challenges and competitions that promise to be fun and engaging. Whether in a tent or under the stars (if the tent pitching doesn’t go as planned!), it’s sure to be an adventure!

I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the staff members who dedicate nearly two weeks of their time - sacrificing their own family moments - to ensure this camp is a success. Your commitment is truly appreciated!

I am thrilled to announce that we are nearly fully staffed for 2025! In a staff as large as ours there are always staff coming and going. We have some exciting new staff joining us from around the world and other parts of New Zealand, bringing fresh perspectives and energy to our school community.

Congratulations to Shaun McRoberts the new Year 11 Dean replacing Nicole Arnell, who moves to her role as Head of Learning Pathways; Robyn Lantsbery, who is the new Year 13 Dean replacing Sara Pollard, who is moving up the coast closer to home to Paraparaumu College. We are also welcoming Luke Armstrong, whom some of you will remember from your time at Hutt Intermediate. He is a former student Sports Leader of HVHS and is returning to his old school, which is very special. Luke will be joining the PE, Health & Foods Learning Area.

Update on our New Build

I am pleased to share that we have received the plans for our new building following the government’s value-for-money exercise. While the design has not changed significantly - featuring an altered roofline and different cladding - we have encountered a challenge. Unfortunately, additional funds will no longer be allocated for landscaping, paving, and celebrating our cultural narrative (pictured below). Len Hetet of Te Āti Awa and the architect of Baked Design Limited had developed a beautiful plan for paving and landscaping across the school.

Len is keen to continue guiding and helping us, he too, is an old boy of the school. I am hopeful that some of our talented community members can assist us to honour both the cultural narrative gifted to us and make the surroundings of the new building something quite special. If you have expertise in landscaping, paving or fundraising, or if you can help the Board and me in any way, I would love to hear from you. Together, we can hopefully create beautiful pathways and trees that reflect our cultural heritage. Thank you for your continued support!

Upcoming Celebrations & Prizegiving Events

Our Year 13 Graduation Celebration is on Friday, 6 December, at 6.30pm in the Lower Hutt Event Centre's Town Hall. All year 13 students are welcome to attend with their families and whānau for the final formal events of their schooling careers. Email invitations will be sent to Year 13 prize winners. The night will celebrate academic, sporting, cultural leadership and service achievements. Students will wear their uniforms and ‘the wings’ for the very last time.

Prizegivings for Years 11 and 12 are also in the Lower Hutt Event Centre's Town Hall. For both prizegiving events, all students are welcome to attend with their families and whānau. Email invitations will be sent to the Year 11 and 12 prize winners. The prizegiving dates are listed below:

• Year 11 Prizegiving, Friday 6 December, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Lower Hutt Town Hall
• Year 12 Prizegiving, Friday 6 December, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Lower Hutt Town Hall.

Prizegivings for Years 9 and 10 are in the HVHS Hall, with limited seating. For these prizegivings, student prize winners only (with their families and whānau) are invited to attend. The prizegiving dates are listed below:

• Year 9 Prizegiving, Thursday 12 December 9:30am - 10:30am, HVHS Hall
• Year 10 Prizegiving, Thursday 12 December 11:00am - 12:00pm, HVHS Hall.

Ngā mihi nui

Denise Johnson (Principal)

Image: HVHS Art Exhibition - a fantastic night celebrating the artistic talents of our senior students. Thank you to the families and whānau who were able to attend and those behind the scenes helping set up the exhibition space and preparing and serving food.

The next HVHS School Board election is on 10 September 2025. At each election, our school community votes to select five parent representatives for the school board.

Before covering the specific skill sets that are helpful on a school board, it is crucial to remember that great school boards are as diverse as the communities they serve. We know that our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, each with their own aspirations and needs. Our school board needs to represent the diversity of our community, ensuring that different, crucial perspectives are involved in decision-making.

What skills do board members need? Every board member brings their own unique set of skills and experiences to the board. As a member of your school's board, you will need to work well in a team and have good communication skills. Particularly helpful to school boards are people with finance, property or policy skills, experience managing people, experience within our school and wider communities, or knowledge and understanding of particular communities.

If you or someone you know may be interested, please reach out to learn more about this opportunity by emailing Lana Goddard (Board Secretary) at lana.goddard@hvhs.school.nz. Also, consider attending a board meeting in Term 1 to see how it works.

On Monday, 4 November, we had the privilege of welcoming Iona Thomas, the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, to speak with our students involved in the HVHS United Nations (UN) Group.

Iona Thomas shared insights into her career journey, detailing the diplomatic positions she has held around the world and the experiences that have shaped her career. She also discussed her work strengthening the relationship between the United Kingdom and Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Image: Hayley Knights (Head of Social Sciences Learning Area), Abhik Rajbhandari (9CNMC), Myumi Peiris (11BH), Iona Thomas (British High Commissioner), Bee Hebron (9BQMA) and Lily Scott (10HRKO).

The last day of the school year is Thursday, 12 December, and Hutt Valley High School will be closed from Wednesday, 18 December 2024 to Monday, 20 January 2025 (inclusive) as teachers take their annual holiday leave. During this period, teachers will not be available on-site, checking emails, or working.

This closedown aligns with the Holidays Act 2003 requirements and provisions in the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement. We appreciate your support and understanding.

Throughout the year, we feature articles from our Learning Areas - this article is by Jude Allen (Head of Careers & Transition Pathways).

It’s been a very busy year for the Careers and Transition Department. We are very fortunate to have two Careers Advisers at HVHS available to help students plan and action their future career-related goals beyond school. Students are offered support for subject selection, career investigation and aspirations, apprenticeships, tertiary study, scholarships, inspiration and applying for jobs through 1-1 interviews, networks and opportunities. Senior students are the priority group for 1-1 interviews, although advice is available to Year 10 and 9 students during subject selection and senior exam time. Currently, students book a time to meet with one of the Careers Advisers on the clipboards outside their offices located upstairs in G Block.

A number of events were held throughout the year providing opportunities for students to broaden their outlook regarding their future and in preparing them for life beyond HVHS. Our senior students were involved in two major Career Expos. The first in May in our school hall targeted Year 11 students and included exhibitors from a range of trades, employers, recruitment agencies, tertiary providers, Lower Hutt large-scale projects, health, apprenticeships and emergency services, to name a few.

The exhibitors were impressed with our students' level of interest and engagement. Our senior students also attended an interactive Expo at the Lower Hutt Event Centre, which provided more opportunities for students to investigate and engage with exhibitors promoting career pathways across various industries, including technology, trades, health, engineering and creative. This term, Year 10 students attended a Tech Expo at the Lower Hutt Event Centre.

Students considering tertiary study were supported with their ‘preparation’ including visits from tertiary providers and support for their applications for courses, scholarships, accommodation and StudyLink. We hosted a variety of speakers for lunchtime presentations throughout the year. Speakers included past students sharing their journeys, employers and agencies discussing opportunities, and industry representatives giving updates about their sectors and job workshops.

Students were connected with events outside of school in a variety of areas, including technology, entrepreneurship, health and trades, and HVHS staff visited local organisations for professional development and an insight into the internationally acclaimed science research and development happening on our doorstep! A big thank you to the speakers, exhibitors, employers and organisations that shared their experiences with our students to open their eyes to the numerous and exciting opportunities for their future.

For any questions, please email me at jude.allen@hvhs.school.nz or Amanda Walters (Careers Advisor / Gateway Coordinator) at amanda.walters@hvhs.school.nz.

Please return any library books and textbooks to the HVHS Library by Friday, 29 November. Returning these items ensures they are accounted for in the annual library stocktake.

The library will be closed on Monday, 2 December, for the annual stocktake and re-open on Tuesday, 3 December, when our librarians look forward to helping students choose their holiday reading.

We are excited to share that Olly Wilkinson (13LN) recently auditioned for a place in the Performance course at Victoria University’s Music Department. Recognising his exceptional talent, the audition panel awarded Olly a prestigious scholarship valued at $1,500.

Olly recently performed on cello in the HVHS Acoustic Concert as part of My Two Friends. Congratulations to Olly on this well-deserved achievement!

Image: Cameron Catchpole (13FL) and Olly Wilkinson (13LN)

Registrations for free music lessons are now open for 2025. Music lessons are offered for the following instruments: bass guitar, cello, clarinet, double bass, drums, flute, french horn, guitar, percussion, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, viola, violin and voice.

To apply for free music lessons in 2025, please click here. For more information on music opportunities visit the school website's music page or email the Music Department at music@hvhs.school.nz

The HVHS Music Department is incredibly grateful for Mrs Cathy Boot's generous donation of a Kawai digital piano. This instrument will be used department-wide and school-wide for performances, assessments, and concerts. Thank you to the Boot family!

We received fantastic news in November that Hutt Valley High School received $520 of grant funding from Max e-Grants. This funding will allow us to provide ten stationery packs for former refugee students joining us in the 2025 school year. These packs will be invaluable in helping our new students settle into both their studies and life in Lower Hutt.

We encourage our community to consider supporting OfficeMax for any stationery needs, just as they kindly supported HVHS.

If you have an unused scientific calculator gathering dust or your student no longer needs their calculator once their NCEA exams are completed, consider donating it to HVHS.

We're not worried about the brand/model of the calculator - all donations are greatly received. You can drop off your old calculators at the Main Office at HVHS. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am-4pm during term time.

In 2025, Hutt Valley High School is excited to welcome 31 students from our sister school, Suginami High School in Tokyo, as part of our biannual exchange program. These students will arrive on Thursday, 20 March, and depart the following Thursday, 27 March 2025.

During their stay, they’ll attend school with their host students, and we'll take them out on trips during the day to explore the Wellington region. On the weekend, the students from Japan will spend time with their host families, immersing themselves in Kiwi culture.

Hosting a student is a fantastic opportunity for HVHS families, particularly those with students studying Japanese, to build connections with Japan while supporting our visitors. If you’re interested in hosting, here’s what you need to know:

• Host students require their own bed (a separate bedroom is not required)
• For safety, all household members over 18 must undergo police vetting and Anna Kingsford, HVHS’s International Homestay Coordinator, will conduct a home visit
• Each host family receives a small reimbursement to help cover the week’s hosting expenses.

If you’re interested in hosting, please email Sarah Langley (Teacher in Charge of Japanese/ Year 10 Dean) at sarah.langley@hvhs.school.nz

Image: Shirin Aung (13PN) visiting Suginami High School in Japan last month as part of the biannual exchange.

Congratulations to:

• Hannah Sampson (10MV) for setting a new Wellington record for the 14-year girls' 200m Breaststroke. The old record of 2:43.53 had stood since July 2018, with Hannah smashing it by 2.57 seconds, setting a new record time of 2:40.96.
• HVHS Junior Girls Touch Team (pictured below) for winning the recent College Sport Wellington Junior Touch Tournament. Thank you to their coaches, Richard Papps and Nick Baker.

If you have any summer or winter sports uniforms that need to be returned, please drop them off at the Resource Centre by Friday, 1 November. If the Resource Centre is closed, you can also drop them off at the Main Office.

Please contact the Sports Office with information on our students’ sporting successes by emailing sport@hvhs.school.nz with any information and results. Photos are also appreciated, as we often share these in the newsletter and on social media too.

If you have any outstanding sports fees, please arrange payment as soon as possible. Parents and caregivers can pay through the Kamar Parent Portal or via a direct credit payment to the HVHS bank account. Payments can also be made through the Resource Centre using cash, Eftpos or credit card.

For any questions regarding your account, contact the Resource Centre at resource.centre@hvhs.school.nz

Thank you to Pub Charity for donating $10,000 in grant funding. This funding allowed us to replace our scoreboard in the gym. It was over 10 years old, faulty, and difficult to repair due to the lack of available spare parts.

The new scoreboard has been installed, looks fantastic, and functions as an LED screen for teaching, assemblies, and house events.

Sarah Langley (Year 10 Dean and Teacher in Charge of Japanese) recently wrote an article for the Asia New Zealand Foundation, sharing her reflections on the recent HVHS trip to Japan. The article highlights the unique learning experiences our students enjoyed. To read the article, please click on the link below.

This trip was supported by an Asia New Zealand Foundation Japan Study Grant, generously funded by Nakashimato Co. Ltd. We are very grateful for their support of our students.

Students who have hired HVHS Music Department instruments need to return them to their Music Teacher or the G Block Art Office by Friday, 6 December. If the G Block Art Office is closed you are welcome to return instruments to the Main Reception which is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm during term time.

For any questions, please email Jhan Lindsay (Performing Arts Coordinator / Teacher in Charge – Itinerant Music Programme) at music@hvhs.school.nz

Registrations for Te Kura’s Summer School are now open. Te Kura, formerly known as Correspondence School, offers a learning programme over the summer holidays for ākonga needing up to 12 NCEA credits to progress to further study, training, or employment.

Te Kura Summer School is designed to support students who:

• are concerned about meeting the 14-credit requirement in a subject for University Entrance
• need additional literacy credits to complete NCEA Level 3
• or require up to 12 NCEA credits to pursue further study, training, or employment.

For more information on enrolment dates and to see the complete list of courses and standards offered at Te Kura's Summer School, please visit their website - https://www.tekura.school.nz/learn-with-us/learning-at-te-kura/summer-school

Parents and students are also welcome to contact Rob Everett (Deputy Principal) at rob.everett@hvhs.school.nz with questions about Te Kura's Summer School.

At HVHS, we encourage students to bring their own device to school. With over 90% of our students arriving in Year 9 with a Chromebook they are well equipped to access course materials, resources, and assessments through Google Classroom. Unfortunately, for some families, the $400 cost of a basic Chromebook is out of reach due to financial hardship.

To bridge this gap, we work with these families, using the support of our community and whānau to provide solutions. In previous years, we have been fortunate with our annual request to gift Chromebooks to our students most in need. If you think that this is something you can do to help a student - we would love to hear from you.

We’d like to thank the families who have already donated. So far, we have been able to donate Chromebooks to five students.

How to Make a Donation to the Chromebook Appeal

To donate, simply make your contribution to Hutt Valley High School's bank account below using the references 'Chromebook' and 'Donation'.

Hutt Valley High School

02-0528-0030654-00

For more information, please contact Principal Denise Johnson at denise.johnson@hvhs.school.nz to discuss your donation. All contribution, big or small is greatly appreciated and can be truly life changing for many students.

We currently have a shortage of secondhand uniforms to donate to students. We'd greatly appreciate your help, especially with donations of school jerseys/hoodies, black shoes and black jackets.

All donations of secondhand uniforms are given to students to ensure they stay warm and comfortable. If you can help, please drop your donated items off at the School Office, which is open from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, during term time.

Thank you to those who have already donated items!

If you haven’t enrolled your Year 8 student yet, please do so as soon as possible. All Year 8 students must enrol – enrolment is NOT automatic even if you live in-zone, attend Hutt Intermediate or have a sibling at HVHS.

A key reason to enrol now is to book an Enrolment Conversation before the end of the school year. These conversations allow us to meet with parents, caregivers and students to plan for their learning needs and ensure a smooth transition to high school. To enrol, please click here https://hvhs.school.nz/how-to-enrol/

If you have any questions, please email our Enrolment Coordinator, Lesley Mackay at lesley.mackay@hvhs.school.nz. Please note that applications for out-of-zone enrolments for all year levels in 2025 have closed.

Winter sports team photos are available online to purchase at https://inphotography.store/

On Wednesday 16 October, families were emailed their User ID and Password to login to the online store to view and purchase photos.

Please check your emails, If you need your User ID and Password re-sent, please contact Lana Goddard (Principals' PA) at office@hvhs.school.nz

Students can help themselves to two packets of period products per month. We also encourage students to take products home for their NCEA study leave and upcoming school holidays to cover their full menstrual cycle.

Period products are located in the tall white cupboard outside the First Aid Room (Sick Bay). Available to students are pads and tampons in sizes regular and super, and also liners.

Friday 29 November

• Last day of NCEA Exams

Tuesday 3 December

• Student Leadership 2025 Day

Thursday 5 December

• Big 10 Day (for Year 10 Students)

Friday 6 December

• Year 11 Prizegiving, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Lower Hutt Event Centre's Town Hall
  
• Year 12 Prizegiving, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Lower Hutt Event Centre's Town Hall
• Year 13 Graduation Prizegiving, 6:30pm - 9:00pm, Lower Hutt Events Centre's Town Hall

Tuesday 10 December

• Supported Learning Centre Production & Prizegiving, 3:30pm-5:30pm

Thursday 12 December

• Last Day of Term 4
• Year 9 Prizegiving, 9:30am - 10:30am, HVHS Hall (Invited students & family only)
• Year 10 Prizegiving, 11:00am - 12:00pm, HVHS Hall (Invited students & family only)

Wednesday 18 December

• Secondary Schools’ Annual Holiday Closedown (runs till Monday 20 January)

Saturday 1 January

• Secondary Schools’ Annual Holiday Closedown continues (runs till Monday 20 January)

Tuesday 28 January & Wednesday 29 January

• Year 13 Leadership Camp

Thursday 30 January

• First Day for New Staff

Friday 31 January

• Teacher Only Day (No classes for students)

Monday 3 February

• Pastoral Day

Tuesday 4 February

• First Day for Year 9 Students (9:00am start time)

Wednesday 5 February

• Second Day for Year 9 Students (9:00am start time)
• First Day for Students in Years 10-13 (11:30am start time)

Thursday 6 February

• Te Rā o Waitangi | Waitangi Day (public holiday, school closed)

Friday 14 February

• Year 9 Meet & Compete Event

Monday 24 February

• School ID Photos (runs till Tuesday 25 February)

Wednesday 26 February

• HVHS Board Meeting, 5:30-7:30pm

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