Kia ora koutou,

A special welcome to new students Pablo, Haylyn, Caleb and Joshua. Well done on making such a positive start to your new school.

Teacher Only Day

Thank you for your support last Friday for the Teacher Only day which saw teachers from our local schools come together for a day of learning. Aside from the obvious learning benefits, it was also an opportunity for the staff to connect and reconnect, which will only benefit our learners moving forward. In a few weeks' time, HNP will host an after-school staff meeting around writing moderation which will see staff from the five schools come together to grade writing samples.

The Week Ahead

As well as the usual nuts and bolts, this week has some interesting opportunities for some Year groups. Footnote Dance is here for three days working with Year 3 & 4 students and senior dance groups. I'm sure they will enjoy this opportunity.

On Friday all Year 6 students will attend the GRIP leadership conference at the Peak Vision church https://gripleadership.co.nz/. We wish these students all the very best for what I'm sure will be a day of powerful messages.

Have a great week everyone.

Ngā mihi

Nick Reed

Principal

The Australasian bittern is our endangered animal of the week.

Australasian bitterns are large birds in the heron family that live in wetlands in New Zealand and Australia. They are really good at hiding and have a loud booming call. Because no one ever saw them, Australians used to hear their call and thought it was a terrifying swamp monster they called the Bunyip.

Now they are critically endangered, with less than 900 birds left in NZ. This is mostly because 90% of our wetlands have been drained in the last 100 years to make farms and homes for people. Humans have destroyed the Bitterns' homes.

Predators and climate change are also big problems for these amazing birds.

Hawkes Bay used to have a large population of Bitterns. By learning about these birds and supporting the Department of Conservation we can increase Bittern numbers in Hawkes Bay.

Here is a quote from David Attenborough:

“It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth”.

A HUGE thank you to those that have volunteered their time this term to coach and/or manage. It is much appreciated and our team sport couldn't happen without people like you.

If you have any queries, sports news or photos please email Erica Cranswick at sport@hnps.school.nz

June

17th - School Photos

24th - Matariki Holiday

July

8th - Last day of Term 2