Kia ora koutou,
It has been a crazy busy term with sports, ShowQuest, NZ Brain Bee Competition, preparing for the school musical, gearing up for Winter Tournament Week, performing music at St James’ Church, and Old Timers Day at rugby. Schools are wonderfully busy places.
This week, we have three staff and several students in Spain, with upcoming trips to Japan and France. Last week, the PE’ers scaled Mt Holdsworth in the rain. Some of our young staff have become parents and are now navigating the world of full-time working parents, others are enjoying the years of being a full-time taxi for their school-age children, while others, like Jairo Trujillo-Ramirez (Head of Languages), are preparing for retirement. Jairo has given 18 years of service to HVHS. We will miss his passion, commitment to his students and, of course, that strong Colombian accent. Thank you Jairo - we wish you all the best for your future.
Matariki provides us with a time to Reflect, Remember, and Dream.
Reflect - I’ve been thinking about just how many people contribute to the smooth running of (most of the time) HVHS. We really are a mini city within Hutt City. In the last month, over 700 families came in for parent-teacher interviews; numerous parents and community members manage and coach sports, often giving up their annual leave to attend events like the Whanganui exchange and other mid-week activities. Some of you employ our students and others support them in many other ways. Thank you.
Remember - Our community is vast, encompassing not only those who are part of our school today but also all those who have walked these grounds before us. Our local community also supports us in countless ways. MJH Engineering is a prime example of this incredible support network. They are a valued partner company, providing our students with invaluable Work Integrated Learning opportunities.
We'd particularly like to thank Jeremy Mikoz and Malcolm Hammond from MJH Engineering.
At the beginning of the year, Jeremy organised a generous donation of steel and helped us leverage MJH Engineering's purchasing power, enabling us to acquire materials at a 50% discount! When our school welder recently broke down, Malcolm generously donated one of their welders that they didn't use much, saving our school between $6,000 and $8,000. How amazing is that?
New Beginnings/ Brighter Futures - I’m pleased to announce that the Ministry of Education has advised us that the replacement building project has been funded for the final design of C-block and E&M blocks, and the construction of the replacement C-block. I am hopeful that the new build will be well on the way - maybe near completion for the 100th celebrations in 2026.
Two Year 12 students, Calista Limmer (12CW) and Millie Sampson (12SM), hope to start a Cooking Club for Year 9 students in Term 3. This is a student initiative and a new club for the school. If you are interested, you can learn more and sign up by clicking here
Enjoy your break and see you all refreshed and ready for the new term!
Ngā mihi nui,
Denise Johnson, Principal
"Their pride was infectious, and their flair was a beauty to behold. They represented themselves, their families, the school, and the cultures extraordinarily well!' - Rob Everett, Deputy Principal
Our Poly Club performed last night at HuttFest to thunderous support from the crowd. HuttFest is a yearly event where students come together and celebrate Pasifika heritage through song and dance. From the first rehearsal at school to performing at HuttFest, it is a huge undertaking that is only made possible by the support of student's families and a number of special people behind the scenes.
A special thank you to teachers Veisinia Lotaki and Sheena Anglesey, who kept the vision and energy up for the students; the parents who led the fundraising efforts; and our student leaders Kim Pua (13JD), Mikayla Sola (13JD), Tavita Iosefa (13EV), Oloitefu Malaitia (13HF), Jay Keating (13AL), Shekinah Simpson-Tiaki (13FX), Rangiotu Box (13RS) and Noa Miki (13JM).
Images: Poly Club ready to perform at HuttFest 2024. Check out HuttFest's Facebook page for more photos (of Day 4, Show 8) that will be added soon.
After last year's success, HVHS entered two teams ('Oceans 4' and 'Innovation Illumination Corporation') to take part in this year's annual CRISiS Challenge run by the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University in Wellington. The CRISiSLab Challenge is a yearly event that brings high school students together to explore the fascinating world of science and technology, focusing on crisis management. This year's challenge focused on the development of a Tsunami alert system that could warn coastal communities of potential incoming Tsunamis.
The students spent two months working out how to gather the data from a pressure sensor to display on a custom-made website and then develop a warning system that could alert people to incoming dangers. On Tuesday last week, the teams travelled to Massey University to present their ideas to their competitors from around the Wellington region and judges from NIWA, NEMA, GNS, Victoria University and the Joint Centre for Disaster Research. Both teams showed fantastic ingenuity and creativity when developing their systems and presented their idea with confidence. The judges spoke highly of their work and were impressed with the ideas that they presented. The experience has taught the teams to manage their time effectively during group projects and the value of working collaboratively to develop innovative ideas.
Pictured (left to right): Arya Ubale (13LR), Jessica Meyer (13LO), Emma McLaughlin (12GA), Morgan Grummitt (12MR), Mac Smith (11PL), Tanush Arra (11RU), Jayden Tolley-Beales (11BU), Idrees Munshi (11BU) & Tom Salway.
- Academic Leaders, Fiona Wu (13FE), Eileen Wu (13FE) & William Li (13FE)
Last Wednesday, we were excited to host HVHS’s first-ever STEMM Trivia Quiz at lunchtime in the hall based on the annual STEMM Student Challenge. Armed with a bag of 200 pieces of candy, we asked a variety of questions within the scopes of Science, Technology, Mathematics, and General Knowledge. We had quite a few teams turn up and compete against each other, reducing our bag to one candy left.
It was fun to see passionate students at HVHS participate in this new event, and due to this success, we hope to host another next term.
The 2024 Girls with Hi-Vis initiative aimed to inspire young women to pursue careers in infrastructure, showcasing a range of opportunities in this vital sector. Female students from Years 11-13 were invited to participate in five different events, offering a unique glimpse into the industry.
The events included visits to notable sites such as Fulton Hogan's Willowbank Quarry, HEB Construction's Sludge Minimisation Wastewater Treatment Plant, Northpower, and West Wind farm, Meridian's largest wind farm. These experiences allowed students to see firsthand the exciting projects and career paths available to them.
Please email Jodene Fitness (Pathways Assistant) at jodene.fitness@hvhs.school.nz for any questions on the Hi-Vis event or to learn more about upcoming opportunities for students.
Six Year 11 students - Betta Mak (11BH) , Matilda Hall (11IN), Mirelly Nunes Pereira (11JM), Himani Bist (11BN), Minara Dadallagei (11ST), and Akshara Bansal (11ST) attended the Hutt Hospital Mahi Exposure Day to learn more about and to simulate a variety of health-related careers at the hospital.
They made a TikTok video showing proper tooth brushing techniques with a health promoter, filled cavities with dental hygienists, delivered babies with midwives, delivered CPR with cardiothoracic nurses, and discussed how teams work together to support mental health with a panel including a social worker, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, and a mental health nurse.
Minara said that "I really enjoyed this day. It opened my eyes to the variety of jobs in the medical field and showed me all the opportunities open to us and the university and education needed for certain jobs. This really helped me see all the paths I could take. I really liked learning CPR. I feel way more confident in doing CPR and I feel like I could do it if there was an emergency."
- Calista Limmer (12CW) & Millie Sampson (12SM)
We are two Year 12 students with a long-standing passion for hospitality and cookery. Inspired by our business, "MISSCHEFS," we are excited to launch Misschefs Cooking Club, which will be held after school on Thursdays starting in Term 3.
As Hospitality and Food and Nutrition Excellence students, we are eager to share our love for baking and cooking with HVHS students who share our passion. Our Cooking Club will run during Terms 3 and 4 and is exclusively for Year 9 students who are not currently enrolled in a food or hospitality subject this year.
If you're interested in joining, you can learn more and sign up by clicking here
Enrolments for 2025 are open for in-zone and out-of-zone 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