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Tuesday TUESDAYApril APRIL 44 2017 2017
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HORNBY HIGH’S REDEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY
Hornby High School
Hornby High School
The first steps in the major redevelopment of Hornby High School have been taken with the library and administration building vacated and the staff and students accommodated in temporary structures elsewhere on the school grounds. The vacated buildings are now awaiting demolition, principal Robin Sutton says, with the Ministry of Education soon to announce the successful contractor for the construction of the first new building. The 80-metre-long, L-shaped building will occupy the footprint of the present building as well as a large open area on the school grounds. In addition to the administration
department and library, this expansive building will also house the science, art and technology departments, the whare, student café and the Learning Commons area (formerly the library). The first stage of the rebuild project includes a new gymnasium complex of basketball-court size, which will sit alongside the existing gymnasium. A key feature of the building will be flexibility. As Mr Sutton points out, it is expected to last for many decades, but there is no way of knowing how education methods might change and what the requirements of teachers and students might be, even in 10 or 20 years’ time. For that
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reason this and all the school’s new buildings have been designed on flexible rather than rigid, old-school lines. Contractors are expected to set up on site within one to two weeks following the demolition, with construction likely to start by late May, Mr Sutton says. Another innovation at Hornby High, which doesn’t involve a new build but rather a re-design, has been the development of the performing arts school, which has seen buildings being remodelled and the auditorium, drama and music departments incorporated under one roof. “Already this has brought more
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collaboration between teachers from the two departments, and students working together on projects,” Mr Sutton says. The principal has a vision for his school and his students as ‘A centre of creative excellence’, and this is based around three goals – learning, well-being and a willingness to take risks. “It’s an ongoing process and we are already seeing signs of improvement, with students gaining increased self-confidence and self-belief. It’s very rewarding to see that.”
A centre of creative excellence
Te Huruhuru Ao o Horomaka
In 2016 we reconsidered our vision as a school, and resolved that our aspiration is to be ‘A centre of creative excellence’ in everything that we do, whether visual arts or chemistry, volleyball or music. The world demands fewer people who can do repetitive tasks and more people who can think creatively and critically. In doing this we haven’t forgotten the importance of the strong relationships that we build with all of our students, and the importance of individualising learning pathways so that we come as close as we can to meeting every individual student’s needs. With term one gone, there is such
wonderful evidence of our students embracing our vision for creative excellence, and everything that it demands. Our focus is firmly on improved academic performance. Central to that is our participation in the Manaiakalani Outreach programme that causes learning using an approach called ‘Learn Create Share’. Chromebooks are vital to support student learning and the evidence is growing almost daily to show that this has a massive positive effect on student learning. Thank you to all whanau who have so far been able to make this significant investment in their tamariki’s education. Our relationships with students and whanau and vital, and we continue to emphasise these as the essential base for all learning. Our student group performing at Polyfest in March were everything that we could want, while we also saw the re-emergence of rugby league as a sport at Hornby High School with teams in both the secondary schools junior and senior league Nines competitions. Their performances revealed a depth of talent that bodes well for the next few years. Their approaches on the field were also examples of students taking calculated
risks in the approaches to sport, and examples of the sort of risk taking and leadership that we have set as a strategic goal for the school. We are very proud of them all.
Robin Sutton PRINCIPAL
180 Waterloo Road, Hornby - Ph 03 349 5395 Email: office@hornby.school.nz www.hornby.school.nz
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