Term Two Week 6

Tēnā koutou katoa

As the weather begins to cool, we are starting to see the first of the winter bugs impacting both staff and students. Please make sure you are looking after yourselves by eating well, staying active, and getting at least eight hours of sleep each night. If students are unwell, we encourage whānau to contact our Attendance Team to explain the absence.

At the same time, we continue to emphasise the importance of regular attendance. Our goal remains no more than five days absent per term, as every day of learning matters and helps students stay connected, engaged, and successful.

There has been a great deal of media attention recently around the significant changes to the national curriculum and qualifications framework. For most students and whānau, it will largely feel like business as usual, but I wanted to reassure our community that we are well prepared for these developments. Our current Year 9 students will be the first cohort to work toward the new Year 11 Foundation Certificate in 2028. The refreshed English and Mathematics curriculum is already being implemented at Year 9 this year, while draft curriculum changes in other learning areas are currently being reviewed across the sector.

Our Deputy Principal Curriculum, Mr Rob Orr, alongside our Heads of Department, are working incredibly hard to ensure we remain up to date with these changes and continue delivering high-quality teaching and learning. Your daughters are in very capable hands as we navigate this next stage of education together.

In the near future, the Board will begin work on developing our new Strategic Plan. We are looking forward to hearing from our community about how we can best support our girls and shape the direction of Hastings Girls’ High School as we move into 2027–2029. Please keep an eye out for upcoming key dates, community hui, and surveys. Your voice is incredibly important and will help guide the future of our kura.

Another highlight this week was our Pink Ribbon Lunch, organised by our Student Council and Student Leaders. The girls did an outstanding job preparing and serving lunch for more than 60 staff and students in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation. It was wonderful to see our school community come together over kai to show hope, care, and support for those whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer. Events like this remind us of the power of community and the difference that can be made when people come together for a cause greater than themselves. We are incredibly proud of the leadership, organisation, and compassion shown by our students in making the event such a success.

Finally, congratulations to all of the students who took part in Monday’s Interhouse Netball competition. It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm, teamwork, and House spirit on display. A special congratulations to Gold House, who took out the overall win!

Ngā mihi nui
Lisa Akers
Principal

Samoan Language Week (Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa) is an annual celebration honouring the rich heritage, traditions, and language of Samoa. This year’s theme is “E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le nu’u”, which translates to “From the high mountains are the blessings of the village.”

Although it is a shorter week, there are a number of meaningful activities planned for our senior Samoan subject classes and wider school community.

On Wednesday, we will begin the celebrations with a traditional Ava ceremony in the Hall at 10:45am. This special occasion will officially open the week and welcome students, staff and guests. We warmly invite the aiga of our senior Samoan students to join us for this important cultural event.

On Thursday, our senior Samoan students will take part in a variety of activities celebrating Samoan culture and identity. The wider school community will also have the opportunity to enjoy a lunchtime performance on the outdoor stage.

On Friday, our senior Samoan classes will travel to Hastings Boys’ High School for a day of cultural exchange and celebration. The programme will include a traditional Ava ceremony, performances, speeches, traditional food and games. As part of their assessment work, Year 11 students will also present their Valaau i le laulau speeches for Standard 1.2.

In other exciting news, congratulations to Kyah Johns and Jo Opoc, who have been selected to attend a three-week Outward Bound New Zealand course in the Marlborough Sounds. This incredible opportunity will see the students challenge themselves in the outdoors, stepping away from everyday distractions to build resilience, independence and self-belief. Throughout the programme, they will develop teamwork and leadership skills, discover personal strengths, and return with greater confidence to tackle future challenges. We are incredibly proud of both students and look forward to hearing about their experiences.

On Thursday 11 June we will be holding our Senior Parent Teacher Interviews from 3.30-6.00pm.

This is an opportunity to come to the School Hall to reconnect with your student’s teachers and discuss how they have been progressing towards their academic goals and NCEA assessments. You will receive a report before then that will summarise your student’s effort in learning and assessment results to date.

Please book a time to meet EACH of your student’s teachers by going to:
School Interview Link – Click here

You may also ring the School Office on (06) 873 1133 or by getting in touch with your student’s Ākina Coach.

Hi everyone, welcome to our amazing and awesome Library space. Many of our students come in regularly and we love seeing new faces all the time too. We have had a very busy year so far and it is great to see all of our resources getting used so often.

We have new books coming in all of the time and we rely on our students and teachers to tell us what books we should buy. We will buy anything that is suitable, so please let us know if there is something you would like us to get – romance, history, comedy, graphic novels – anything!

Our laptops keep us busy in the mornings and afternoons and we are happy to help with any printing and laminating too! If you have a project that needs a little bit of pizzazz, feel free to speak with Phil for any design needs as he is also one of our Technology teachers and loves designing things!

Speaking of Phil, he has been very busy lately designing the new Library desk that is going to be installed later this year. It is going to feature some pretty special materials that have been recycled from old seating around the school and will have lots more space for our librarians to work at. This is going to be installed at the same time we receive new carpet for the entire library! We are very excited about these new additions and cannot wait to show everyone.

Trina is busy getting all of our new books ready for borrowing and does an amazing job keeping all of the shelves organised and accessible. If you need to find a book or get some recommendations, she is an absolute guru and will find your book in no time. Trina only works Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and is sorely missed by everyone on her two days out each week.

Mornings before school are super popular here, especially on cold mornings, so please pop in before school, catch up with friends, say hi to Phil and Trina and get yourself ready for a great day learning. Come in at morning tea to play some of our games, cards or build some cool models on the Lego table and hang out at lunch and settle in with a good book. We’re always happy to see everyone and talk about what’s going on at HGHS.

Come in and see us anytime and we’ll always do our best to help your learning and give you a giggle each day. If you have any suggestions about what we can do for our Library, we’re always happy to listen and dream big!

2026 Tertiary Pathways & Information Evenings

For Prospective Students and Whānau A comprehensive guide to student life, undergraduate degrees, and scholarship opportunities.

• What to Expect
• Campus & Accommodation Tours: View halls of residence and facilities.
• Faculty Sessions: Meet staff, explore courses, and attend taster lectures.

Wed 3 June	6:30–8:30pm	University of Otago	Napier War Memorial Centre
Thu 4 June	5:00–8:00pm	NZ Defence Force	EIT Building, Hastings
Tue 9 June	6:00–7:30pm	University of Waikato	Napier War Memorial Centre
Thu 11 June	6:00–7:30pm	Victoria University	Napier War Memorial Centre
Tue 16 June	6:00–8:15pm	University of Canterbury	Napier War Memorial Centre
Thu 25 June	TBA	University of Auckland	Napier War Memorial Centre
Thu 27 Aug	6:00–8:00pm	QRC (Tourism/Hosp.)	Hawke’s Bay (Venue TBA)
Thu 17 Sep	10:00am–2:00pm	EIT Enrolment Day	EIT Campus, Taradale

2026 NZ University Open Day Schedule

Mon 20 July	NZ School of Tourism	Chch, Wgtn, or Hamilton	Check Local Campus
Fri 24 July	Lincoln University	Lincoln (Canterbury)	10:00am–3:00pm
Wed 5 August	Massey University	Manawatū (Palmerston North)	All Day
Sat 15 August	Massey University	Ōtehā (Auckland)	All Day
Fri 21 August	Victoria University	Wellington	All Day
Fri 21 August	Massey University	Pukeahu (Wellington)	All Day
Fri 28 August	University of Canterbury	Christchurch	All Day
Sat 29 August	AUT	Auckland CBD	9:00am–3:00pm
Sat 29 August	University of Auckland	Auckland CBD	9:00am–4:00pm
Thu 3 September	Massey (Distance)	Online	See Website

Our recent Fiafia Night was a vibrant celebration of culture, diversity, and unity. The event brought together eight different cultural groups, each showcasing their traditional dances to a proud audience of family and friends.

The evening served as the perfect culmination of long, dedicated weeks of practices. Students poured their energy into perfecting their routines, and their hard work truly shone on stage. It was a beautiful night that highlighted the school’s rich multicultural community and the powerful bond shared by its students.

We are excited to announce that two of our students: Kyah Johns and Jo Opoc have been selected to take on the ultimate three-week adventure at Outward Bound in Marlborough Sounds.

On this course, the students will challenge themselves in the outdoors, stepping away from everyday distractions to build resilience and self-belief. Throughout the action-packed three weeks, they will uncover their strengths, developing a strong sense of independence and the teamwork skills needed to collaborate under pressure. They will return equipped with clear goals and the confidence to tackle any future challenge.

Huge congratulations to our Year 12 students, Niranjana, Anvitha, Hope, Paige, Chezcah, and Dylan, who travelled to Massey University recently to present their project for the Young Women in Leadership Programme.

Out of a huge pool of applicants from across the Central North Island, these six standard-raisers were selected as part of an elite group of just 30 students. The programme is designed to help emerging leaders find their voice and explore what great leadership looks like.

After an intensive one-day workshop, the team had just six weeks to plan and launch a project. They did us incredibly proud presenting their “student voice” project focused on Pickleball!

We can’t wait to see where these leadership skills take them next.

We are officially halfway through the term, and a massive shout-out is in order! Huge congratulations to Salome and Riley for achieving a perfect 100% attendance last week.

Showing up every single day is no small feat, and their dedication definitely paid off, both of them walked away with some delicious sushi vouchers to celebrate their achievement.

The term isn’t over yet, and the spot for the next attendance champion is wide open. Keep showing up, staying focused, and doing your best… who will be next?

Our recent Interhouse Netball competition between Gold, Blue, Green, and Purple was a fantastic display of school spirit, teamwork, and determination. It was wonderful to see so many girls and staff proudly representing their Houses and giving their all on the court. Congratulations to Gold House for an outstanding performance, taking out both the Junior and Senior competitions, with Blue House finishing as deserving runner-up in both grades. A huge thank you to everyone who participated, supported, and helped make the event such a positive and enjoyable occasion for all involved.

Senior Placings
1st Gold, 2nd Blue, 3rd Purple, 4th Green

Junior Placings
1st Gold, 2nd Blue, 3rd Green, 4th Purple

On Tuesday the Student Sports Council Leadership Day doors opened at 8am for the school representatives to sign in and begin meeting each other. Delilah and I [Elise] were the first two to arrive. We were gifted our member badges at the door and then sat down and waited for the others to arrive.

By 8:30 everyone was there and we started our day of fun. Before anything else, we were spilt into several randomly assigned groups that separated us from our school groups. We stayed in these groups throughout the day and got to know each other through different activities.

First off we walked over to the Giants Boxing Academy where we met an instructor named Craig. Craig walked us through different boxing stances, strikes, and blocks before letting us play a game where we were to try and strike our partner’s hands while they tried to dodge. Delilah and I jumped into a smaller ring in the corner with Max from Karamū HS and Riley from Napier Boys’ HS. The four of us rotated partners for a couple of rounds before we wrapped up the session and headed back to the community rooms for morning tea.

After morning tea we got to listen to two speakers. The first speaker was a woman named Michaela Baker. Michaela has played with rugby teams in Spain and the USA as well as playing for the HB Tui. Michaela spoke about moving through different sports within her life and how she started her own business which she hopes to expand.

The second speaker was a man named Rodger Gray, who is the CRST (Central Region Special Tactics) Group Commander. Rodger was captain of the All Whites from 1989-1997. Rodger talked us through how Police teams work together and prepare in different situations, something that can be related back to playing team games within sport.

After the speakers we did an ‘Inclusive Session’. In this session we had to play games that required us to use only our arms while sitting on the floor. This was to help us understand how we could include people with different disabilities in sport. We played games such as Pool Noodle Hockey, Sitting Volleyball and Keepy Up, where you have to keep a balloon in the air. We also had to modify these games by making new rules such as, you can only use your left hand, or you have to close your eyes and listen to the bell inside the ball.

After this session we had lunch before returning to our school groups. In our school groups we looked at feedback from students within HB on why they didn’t participate in sport. From this feedback we then had to create a plan of an event that could make doing something active more appealing. Delilah and I came up with two plans before deciding on the simpler option. After we rested these events we had to go around to two different school groups and explain our idea to them to get feedback on how we could improve our event.

After our planning we did a quick reflection about what we learnt before heading home for the day.

By Elise Hooper – Year 11

MONDAY 1 JUNE

SENIOR A NETBALL | TBC | SCHOOL GYM

RUGBY | 12PM | ELWOOD PARK

TUESDAY 2 JUNE

RUGBY | 12PM | SCHOOL

JUNIOR A & B NETBALL | 3:00PM | SCHOOL GYM

WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE

JUNIOR BLUE NETBALL | LUNCH | SCHOOL GYM

SENIOR B NETBALL | 3-5PM | SCHOOL GYM

1ST XI HOCKEY | 3-4:30PM | SCHOOL TURF

THURSDAY 4 JUNE

BADMINTON SENIORS | LUNCH | SCHOOL GYM

JUNIOR RED NETBALL | LUNCH | SCHOOL TURF

FRIDAY 5 JUNE

SENIOR B NETBALL | 3-5PM | SPORTS PARK

JUNIOR RED NETBALL | 3-4:30PM | SCHOOL TURF

SENIOR RED NETBALL | LUNCH | SCHOOL GYM

SENIOR BLUE NETBALL | 3-4:30PM | SCHOOL GYM

MONDAY 1 JUNE

PREM BASKETBALL – NO GAME

TUESDAY 2 JUNE

SENIOR A NETBALL VS TAMATEA | 6:30PM | RODNEY GREEN ARENA | COURT 6

WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE

U15 RUGBY VS TBC | TBC | ELWOOD PARK

U17 RUGBY VS TBC | TBC | ELWOOD PARK

1ST XI FOOTBALL VS CHB | 4:00PM | CHB 1

THURSDAY 4 JUNE

1ST XI HOCKEY VS NGHS JUNIOR A | 4:30PM | PARK ISLAND

BADMINTON | TBC

School Calendar