Newsletter Week 7 Term 2

Hastings Christian School

3 June 2026

From the Principal

Tālofa lava. This week celebrates the culture and language of Samoa, which is the third most widely spoken language in New Zealand. Samoan Language Week runs from May 31 to June 6 and is celebrated across Aotearoa with community events and cultural displays. 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."

A passage of scripture that immediately came to my mind as I thought about this theme was Psalm 121:1–2: "I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." As believers, our hope and help is not in the mountains, but in the One who made them.

An email went out earlier today notifying our school community of an exciting opportunity to celebrate not only the Samoan culture, but all the cultures within our school as we host our very own Fiafia Night. This night, named after a traditional Samoan celebration of food, music, and dance, can be translated as "happy" or "joyful" in the Samoan language. As Whaea Marie said, a Fiafia Night is a special opportunity for our school community to come together and celebrate the many cultures, traditions, stories, and experiences that make up our kura.

Another exciting opportunity that some of our students will be taking part in is the annual Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools’ Chamber Music competition. We have three teams in this competition taking place tomorrow. The staff were blessed with a ‘practice’ concert today at morning tea and can confidently report that our school will be well represented by these students. Please keep these students in your prayers.

The arts will continue to feature with our secondary school choir performing at the Toitoi centre on the 17th of June in the Big Sing competition. Having had the privilege of practicing with them for the last few months, I am incredibly proud of the work that they have all put in and particularly thankful to Lara Coates, who has so capably prepared them for this choral celebration.

One of the pieces we have particularly enjoyed singing as a choir is "Come to Me" by Dan Forrest. It is a beautifully arranged song with even more beautiful lyrics that come from Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Our hope and prayer is that this will be a challenge and encouragement to all who hear the performance.

Speaking of which, if you would like to come to either the primary assembly on Monday at 2:30pm or the secondary assembly on Wednesday at 8:40am next week, you will be able to hear this song presented—otherwise, you may still be able to get tickets for the evening gala performance on the 17th.

Lastly, please ask the teachers how they found yesterday’s Board of Proprietors' Special Character Teacher-Only Day. For my part, I was greatly encouraged and convicted by the material on "how to speak well" that Brian Morton shared with us. Brian has thousands of hours of experience as a biblical counsellor. He did a fantastic job of challenging and helping us in the use of our main teaching tool—our tongue!

The three sessions included the following themes and aims:

The God Who Speaks — The Foundation of All Godly Speech

Aim: To ground our speech in the character and authority of God Himself.

The Heart, the Tongue, and the Battle Within

Aim: To expose the heart dynamics behind speech and where it went wrong.

Redeemed Speech — Speaking as Those Under Grace

Aim: To move from diagnosis to formation.

I’m sure you’ll all agree that this is an area that we all find a challenge, but I am so pleased that God hasn’t left us in the dark when it comes to knowing how to employ this small member of our bodies (James 3:5) to build up and benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29)!

Gavin Clark

Principal

Chamber Music

This morning, our staff enjoyed fantastic performances from our three chamber music groups. The talent on display was truly impressive! Mentored by Mrs Coates, these groups will be performing at the Regional Chamber Music Festival tomorrow. We wish them all the best!

The Olrusa Trio playing Salut d’Amour (Elgar)

Oliver Smith Y12

Ruben Swart Y9

Sarah Terry Y13

The Blue Maroons playing Mvts I and IV from Five Pieces (Shostakovich)

Liyah McMinn-Collard Y12

Claire Bigwood Y12

Hayley Cope (SHC)

The MnMs playing Badinage, Berceuse and Nocturne from 5 Petit Duos (César Cui)

Maisie Reed Y13

Meagan Kloosterman Y13

Noah Coates Y13

Vacancy on the HCS Board

A casual vacancy has occurred on the HCS school board for an elected parent representative. The board has decided to fill the vacancy by selection. This means the board will select a new parent representative.

If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, before 11 June, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.

Request for a by-election should be sent to:

Presiding member (chair)
HCS Board
board@hcs.school.nz

Signing students out of School

When students & staff need to leave during the school day, we ask that they sign out via the ipad at the school office. Secondary students are already used to doing this, but we would now ask that all primary students (or their parents) please come to the office and officially sign out if they are leaving the school grounds (going home early or sick for the day or going to an appointment).

When a student or staff member signs out at the front office, this automatically updates the school’s student management system so that office staff and teachers can account for the whereabouts of all students and staff during the school day. Please ask the office staff if you need any help when signing out your child. Thanks!

Fia Fia Night

Kia ora e te whānau, We are excited to invite you to our Hastings Christian School Fiafia Night on Thursday 23 July at 6:00pm in the School Gym.

Fiafia Night is a special opportunity for our school community to come together and celebrate the many cultures, traditions, stories, and experiences that make up our school whānau. As a Christian school, we recognise that every person is wonderfully made in God's image, and this evening is a chance to celebrate the rich diversity He has brought together within our community.

We would love for families to be involved by sharing something meaningful from their culture, heritage, or family traditions. This could be a cultural performance, dance, song, traditional dress, music, storytelling, a favourite dessert, or simply sharing something special about your family's background.

Whether your family has lived in New Zealand for generations or has connections to another part of the world, your story matters and helps us learn more about one another.

If you would like to contribute in any way, please complete the form below:

Fiafia Night Participation Form:

Please complete the form by Friday 3 July so we can begin putting the evening programme together.

Even if you are not planning to perform or contribute an item, we warmly encourage you to come along and enjoy an evening of celebration, connection, and community.

We are looking forward to seeing our school whānau come together for what promises to be a wonderful evening.

Kapa Haka

Here is a short video of the Kapa Haka group learning a hand game.

Kapa Haka Clip

Tough Guy and Gal

A group of Primary students took part in the Tough Guy and Gal event. The day was filled with bright colours, sunshine, and lots of mud! Students challenged themselves by running up steep hills, crawling through muddy bogs, and pushing through obstacles along the way. It was fantastic to see everyone showing perseverance and courage throughout the course.