HVHS Newsletter
Friday, 11 September - Week 8, Term 3
A Message to Our Senior Students & Whānau
Kia ora e te whānau,
As we head into the final stretch of Term 3, our senior students (Years 11–13) are entering one of the most critical times of the school year. With the finish line now firmly in sight, this is the moment to dig deep, keep working hard, and stay focused on your goals. Every bit of effort you invest over the next few weeks will make a real difference to your end-of-year achievements.
Roadmap to the Exams
To help keep your preparation on track, here is the timeline for the remainder of the academic year:
Two More Weeks of Formal Classes: Use every single period wisely to complete internal assessments, finalise portfolio work, and clarify subject knowledge with your teachers.
Derived Grade Examinations (Beginning of Term 4): Starting on Monday, 12 October, these exams are an essential dress rehearsal. They provide valuable practice under real exam conditions and generate critical derived grades should unforeseen circumstances affect your official NCEA exams. These assessments assist in pinpointing your current strengths, identifying areas needing improvement, and directing your study efforts effectively.
Tutorial & Study Week: Following the derived grade examinations, dedicated tutorials and study opportunities will be available to help reinforce key concepts. Tutorial week begins on November 2nd. Please speak to your subject teachers about the opportunities available to you. While I understand that some students prefer to study alone at home, we believe many would benefit from focused study sessions with their expert teachers, which is a much more efficient use of time.
NCEA & NZ Scholarship Examinations: External examinations officially begin on Tuesday, 10 November.
Smart Preparation: Practice Makes Perfect
Success in external examinations comes down to intentional, active preparation. Now is the time to consider your learning:
Identify Your Gaps: Be honest with yourself about what you know well and what you still need to master.
Practice, Practice, Practice: The old saying holds true—"practice makes perfect." On the flip side, "winging it" almost never works out well! Work through past paper questions, write practice essays, and test your recall under timed conditions.
Ask for Support: Don't wait until the last minute if you get stuck. Take full advantage of subject help rooms and speak to your classroom teachers.
- By Racquel Premraj (13CWMH)
The HVHS Premier B Debating Team recently wrapped up their season for the year. For the first time in around ten years, we made the semi-finals! After five preliminary rounds, we ended with three wins. We were then placed against Sacred Heart College in the quarter-finals . In a passionate debate, we won unanimously and moved on to the next round.
For our semi-finals, we ended up negating against Samuel Marsden Collegiate (Marsden). The motion was: “This house would repeal the starting-out wage.” After a long and intense round of speeches, it ended in a split panel of 2:1 to Marsden. Congratulations to them for a great debate to end the season! While it is bittersweet we were a vote away from the finals, I am proud of the season we’ve had. It is a great final chapter to wrap up the five years I have been involved in debating at the school.
If there is anything I want you to take away from this article, it is how rewarding debating is. Debating is a great way to expand your thinking and build public speaking skills for the future. It also increases your confidence and helps you make new friends. You never know, you may end up taking HVHS to the finals!
So if I’ve convinced you to give it a go, email Ioanna Koroniadis at ioanna.koroniadis@hvhs.school.nz to get involved in debating for next year.
Premier B Debate Team (left to right): Racquel Premraj (13CWMH), Ruby McGregor (13JDPN), and Joseph Moorman (13BH).
We hosted a Learning Community Hub event last week for a group of migrant students. Hutt City Councillor, community worker and HVHS alumni Karen (Kaz) Yung returned to speak with our English Language Learners. Kaz's presentation at the event focused on her leadership journey and connected strongly to her identity as a New Zealand-born Chinese Kiwi.
It was fantastic for students to see how important Kaz's home culture was in shaping her values while growing up in New Zealand. Our recently arrived students remain strongly connected to their home cultures as they learn about New Zealand culture and establish their new lives here in Aotearoa.
Photo credit (top left): Karen (Kaz) Yung, courtesy of Hutt City Council
The marae is open for breakfast from 8am until 8.55am for students needed kai before school starts. On offer is toast, weetibix, warm milo and great company! There will always be pre-made buns (jam or peanut butter) available on a table close to the door for everyone to help themselves, as well as any fruit that is donated.
Every now and then a bonus pot of something filling might be on offer like pumpkin and bacon soup or curried sausages, especially during the colder days. For any questions or offers of help, please email Sonia Talivai (Literacy Support) at sonia.talivai@hvhs.school.nz
Derived grade exams provide the evidence-based marks used to award your NCEA grade if you miss an external exam due to approved, unforeseen circumstances.
Schedule & Attendance
- Dates: Exams run from Monday, 12 October (first day of Term 4) to Wednesday, 21 October, with normal timetables resuming on Thursday, 22 October. Please click here to view the exam timetable.
- Timings: Morning exams start at 9:00am and afternoon exams at 1:30 pm. Please arrive 15 minutes before the exam starts.
- Daily Routines: Senior students in Years 11-13 study from home when they don't have an exam. Year 10 students attend regular classes unless they are sitting an exam.
- For Students with Special Assessment Conditions (SAC): Please follow the instructions sent from the Learning Support team.
- Venues: Room allocations will be posted daily at reception and at various other key places around school.
- Absences: If an exam is missed, contact the subject teacher immediately to arrange a catch-up session.
Exam Requirements & Equipment
- Uniform: Full school uniform is compulsory.
- If a student needs to borrow a device to sit their exam, please use this request form by clicking here (as soon as possible).
- Digital Exams: Run via Exam.net or Education Perfect. Students must bring a fully charged device.
- For Paper Exams: Students must use blue or black pens only. Students may also bring a clear pencil bag and a clear drink bottle.
- For Numeracy Exams: Students may also bring rulers and calculators (see the Maths Learning Area if you need one).
- For Language Exams: Students must also bring headphones.
For any questions, please email Rob Everett (Deputy Principal) at rob.everett@hvhs.school.nz
Physio Support at Hutt Valley High School
The Sports Office have teamed up with Jo Young from Petone Physio to offer physio services here at HVHS on a Friday during the school term. The Physio service is available to all students - not just those involved in sport. Whether you’re managing an injury, experiencing aches and pains, or simply looking for advice on movement, exercise and staying active, the team at Petone Physio are here to help.
This is a great opportunity for any student to access professional support and get advice to help feel their best and stay well. Please see the information sheet about the physio service including costs by clicking here. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch with Jo Young at Petone Physio at admin@petonephysio.co.nz or email the Sports Office at sport@hvhs.school.nz
Badminton
Eighteen Year 9 & 10 students participated in the College Sport Wellington Badminton Championships. Everyone played really well!
From the HVHS team, Jadon Chai (9WNDO) and Jayden Penta (10WMCE) reached the Plate final after winning three of their five matches. In an all-HVHS final, Jadon secured the win 21–18 over Jayden. Both received Burger Fuel vouchers as a reward for reaching the final. Bella Morar (10BESD) also performed strongly, finishing as the Plate runner-up in the girls' badminton singles.
Floorball
Lily Osborne Gilchrist (11CN) and Molly Carson (11CN) have both been selected into the New Zealand U19 Women’s Floorball team! They will be travelling to Hong Kong in January for the U19 World Championships Qualification tournament.
Football
Alex Turner (11HD), Hannah Broster (10WHAR) and Ava Nash (11CN) for their selection to the Capital Football Aspiring Leaders Programme 2026.
HYROX
Coco Holland-Waterson (13JDPN) continues to perform strongly in HYROX - an indoor fitness race that combining running with functional workout stations. Competing against 1,100 participants from across Australia, New Zealand and around the world, Coco won the Open Women’s HYROX competition! Coco completed the race in 1:01:47 (61 minutes and 47 seconds), finishing nearly two minutes ahead of the runner-up!
Swimming
Our swimmers recently delivered outstanding results, smashing long-standing records at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships:
- Kayne Howat (13LE) - pictured: Set a new Wellington Short Course record in the 18-Year Boys 50m Butterfly with a time of 24.63 (lowering the previous 2022 record of 25.41).
- Hannah Sampson (12VY): Broke a 20-year-old regional record in the 16-Year Girls 100m Breaststroke at the Wellington Short Course Championships, stopping the clock at 1:10.82 (surpassing the previous record of 1:11.35 set in September 2005).
Alongside planning for the redevelopment of E Block (our new 16-classroom building on the east side of the campus), we have been meeting with engineers and the Ministry of Education about G Block (the Arts block on the northeast side of the campus near Woburn Road).
The Ministry of Education has recently completed a new seismic assessment of the Arts Block (Block G). The assessment confirms that the building can continue to be used as it rates above 34% of the New Building Standard (NBS); however, the assessment identified opportunities to improve the seismic resilience of the building.
Detailed designs for this strengthening work are expected to begin later this year, with construction anticipated to commence as early as next year. Once contractors have been engaged and the construction programme has been confirmed, we will provide a further update.
If you would like to learn more about the planned seismic upgrades, we are currently
taking expressions of interest for an information session to be held at the school next week on Wednesday, 16 September at 3.30pm. Please email Lana Goddard (Principal's PA) at lana.goddard@hvhs.school.nz to RSVP for this session by Tuesday, 15 September at 3:30pm if you are planning to attend.
Living on the Pacific Ring of Fire means natural disasters are a real possibility, and with Hutt Valley High School (HVHS) located in a tsunami zone, preparedness is essential. Wellington Regional Emergency Management gives this advice: Long or Strong – Get Gone! If an earthquake is longer than one minute OR strong enough that it is difficult to stand, immediate evacuation is required as soon as shaking stops.
Student Assembly & Dismissal
In the event of a severe earthquake meeting this threshold, HVHS students have been instructed to evacuate out of the tsunami zone immediately. All students and staff will gather at Hutt Intermediate's School field. Students will be dismissed directly from Hutt Intermediate. Once safety is established, students must follow their family's agreed reunification plan.
Reminder - Discuss Your Family's Emergency Plan
Please talk with your child to ensure they clearly understand your family's emergency plan and know where to go once dismissed from the assembly site. To help with planning, Wellington Regional Emergency Management's has a helpful planning guide, click here to view it.
We're currently running low on donated uniforms, especially school skirts and black formal trousers. If your student has outgrown their uniform or no longer needs it, please consider donating it back to HVHS.
We'll ensure it is passed on to a student who needs it or loaned to a student who needs a replacement uniform item for a couple of days. Any uniform items you wish to donate can be dropped to the HVHS Office, open Monday to Friday from 8am-4pm during term time.
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