|
|
|
|
Newsletter Week 8 Term 1
Hastings Christian School
18 March 2026
|
|
|
Cyber Safety Evening with Rob Cope
Last Thursday I attended a cyber safety evening hosted by Rob Cope, along with other staff and parents from our school. I went both as a parent of teenagers and as the Year 10 Dean, hoping to gain a few more tools for the toolkit when it comes to navigating the online world with our young people.
|
My husband and I are Generation X — the last generation to have a childhood before the internet. The world we grew up in is very different from the digital world our teenagers are growing up in. As confident as we may feel with technology, open conversations, filters and time limits, even we have been surprised by what can still get through.
|
To be honest, the first part of the evening was quite confronting. Rob showed just how serious the online world has become and the very real need to protect our children - and ourselves -as much as possible. At one point I was ready to burn everything in our house that plugs in and run for the hills to live like hobbits!
|
Thankfully, he finished the evening with helpful suggestions and a challenge. One thing he said really struck me: the cure for addiction — and let’s face it, adults can be just as addicted to screens as our kids — is connection.
|
That night I called a family meeting (which did involve a few eye rolls). We talked about our online habits and reset some family boundaries. PlayStation is now weekends only for one hour in the evening, devices are charged outside bedrooms, and homework on devices happens around the dining table.
|
|
We also talked about ways to reconnect as a family. It doesn’t mean removing technology entirely - it means using it together instead of everyone sitting on their own screens. My husband and our younger son are planning to build an app together, my middle son is recording music on his computer, and I FaceTime our daughter who is studying in Sydney.
|
|
It reminded me that technology itself isn’t the problem - it’s how we use it. The evening was a helpful reminder to be proactive about the family culture we want to create.
|
Rob also recommended two documentaries worth watching with your teenagers and discussing together:
|
-
-
|
The Social Dilemma – Netflix
|
While I attended the evening wearing my “teacher hat”, it reinforced that these conversations really need to happen at home with our children. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to talk with your teenagers about gaming, social media, pornography, online predators and cyberbullying.
|
As Rob put it so well:
“Our boundaries are their brakes. Without brakes, they will crash.”
|
|
If you couldn’t attend the event, you can access Rob’s resources online:
|
|
Road Safety
|
Please be viligant in the main school carpark when picking up your children. We have noticed increasing issues with the layout of this space and our property committee are looking at some solutions to ease the congestion and make this area safer for students and drivers afterschool.
|
|
|
Parent/Teacher Meetings 2026
This year parent/teacher meetings will take place on the following dates.
|
|
More information and a link to the booking site will be sent out via the school app. We encourage you to take the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher to discuss their progress.
|
|
|
|
|
Teacher Only Day
|
There will be a whole school teacher only day on:
|
|
Tuesday 2nd June (Tuesday after King's Birthday)
|
|
This will be a day where staff will focus on the Special Character of the school.
|
|
School Accounts
|
Please ensure invoices for school items such as music tuition, technology, sport, student diaries, have been paid by the end of the term.
|
|
Term 2 Sports Registrations - Primary School
Registrations for Term 2 Primary sports have moved from paper forms to an online form using Google Forms. Please click the link below to view information about the Term 2 sports on offer and to complete the registration form for your child. All registrations must be submitted by Tuesday 31 March.
|
|
School Sores (Impetigo)
We have had a number of students with school sores this term. It is a bacterial skin infection most common in children:
|
- it starts with blisters on exposed parts of the body, such as hands, legs and face
- the blisters burst and turn into a sore with a yellow crust that gets bigger each day
- the sores are itchy
- the sores spread easily to other parts of the skin
- school sores easily spread to other children and adults if they touch the sores
If your child is showing signs of having school sores:
|
- Children should see a doctor for assessment and treatment. Careful cleaning of the sores and the use of antiseptic or antibiotic cream may be advised. Sometimes oral antibiotics are prescribed.
- Children must stay away from school until crusts have dried out, at least a full 24 hours after treatment has started, or as advised by a doctor. The school office will contact parents to collect their children if any sores are weeping.
|
Leaders in Our Schools
Here is the link to the publication featuring Hawke's Bay secondary school leaders.
|
|
|
The Tongariro Field Trip
By David Franca van Dongen Y13
|
If the Tongariro field trip were a nature documentary, the opening shot would probably be a wide sweep of volcanic landscape with mist hanging over the ridges and dramatic music playing in the background as a narrator explains the remarkable ecosystems of Tongariro National Park. Instead, the real beginning looked slightly different: a group of half-awake Year 12 and 13 biology students piling into vans mid-morning and setting off ready for three days of tramping, data collection, and the occasional questionable decision. Our first stop was the Department of Conservation centre on Mt Ruapehu. It served mainly as a welcome break from the drive and an opportunity to look around the displays inside. The centre was laid out almost like a small museum, with information about the national park’s history and its many tracks. From there, we continued to the Tongariro Falls walk, whose lush vegetation would later feel like a stark contrast to the far more exposed, volcanic landscape of the Mangatepopo Track the next day.
|
Later that afternoon we arrived at Piper’s Ski Lodge, where we would be staying for the trip. After settling in and getting organised, the evening moved along quickly. Dinner was followed by packing our day bags carefully for the hike the next morning - science equipment, notebooks, and enough layers to handle whatever weather Tongariro might throw at us. Once everything was ready, we had some time in the lounge before bed, watching a movie, exploring the lodge, and getting to know some of the other students staying there, including John-Henry, who quickly became something of an honorary member of the group. Later that night Mrs Pratt shared a devotion with us before lights out, a fitting way to end the first day and prepare for the one ahead.
|
The next morning began with breakfast and what could only be described as very thorough bag checks. Once everything had been inspected and approved, we made our lunches at a small “build-your-own sandwich” station set up in one of the side rooms off the lounge, before sorting the equipment we would be carrying during the hike. Soon we were back in the vans and heading toward Tongariro National Park. At the Mangatepopo car park we applied sunscreen, accepted some freshly picked apples kindly offered by Mrs Pratt, and made the final adjustments to our bags before beginning the climb.
|
The track up towards the Blue Lake was steady and gradual, winding through volcanic rock and open alpine landscape. Much of the climb involved the familiar rhythm of walking, stopping occasionally to take in the view, and quietly hoping the steeper sections might be behind us. Reaching the higher part of the track made the effort worthwhile. From near the summit, the view stretched out across the national park, and in the distance, the Emerald Lakes stood out vividly against the darker volcanic rock. It was one of those moments where the group naturally slowed down for a while, simply taking in the scale of the landscape and the beauty of God’s creation. That moment of quiet appreciation did not last particularly long, as it was soon interrupted when Meagan and Levi - who were conducting research on the effects of altitude on human physiology - began rounding up their ten test subjects to measure data. Scientific research, it turns out, has very little respect for scenic contemplation. Our own fieldwork began as we made our way back down the track. From the summit area down toward the car park, we stopped at several sites to collect data about vegetation and environmental conditions. It made the descent slower, but it also gave us the chance to observe the landscape more closely.
|
By the time we reached the bottom, most of us were more than ready to get back to Piper’s. We arrived and had dinner, and while some of us later headed out to the freezing cold Tawhai Falls, others made the more sensible decision to stay behind. Once everyone had cleaned up, the evening finished with processing the field data we had collected during the day before heading to bed.
|
The final morning was much quieter. After breakfast, we packed up our gear, tidied the lodge, and loaded everything back into the vans. On the way home, we stopped in TaupÅ, where everyone had time to find lunch and walk around town before the final stretch of the journey. When we arrived back at school in the early afternoon, a few Year 13 students on study periods were there to greet us, looking considerably more rested and less sunburnt than those of us returning.
|
|
The trip itself was an incredible experience, and it would be difficult to do it justice by reducing it to a summary of walks, data collection, and sandwich-making stations. A huge thank you must go to Mrs Pratt and Mr Arnold for organising the trip and giving us the opportunity to experience Tongariro in a way that goes far beyond the classroom, as well as to Mr Jacobs and Mr Heeringa for giving up their time to help make it all run smoothly. It was a memorable few days for everyone involved, and one that, despite the sunburn, steep climbs, and the steady reminder that the track was not quite finished yet, will definitely be remembered for a long time.
|
|
Farmyard Zoo Trip
|
A2 and A3 saw and were amongst God's amazingly, wonderfully wonderful creation on our trip to the Hawkes Bay Farmyard Zoo last week.
|
|
|
|
Student Achievements
|
Well done to Eziah Paulsen (Y13) who won the Secondary School Tennis Tournament for Senior Boys last week!
|
|
|
Pizza Lunches
|
Available every Friday - order outside the staffroom before school.
|
|
Community Events
|
|
In the lead-up to Easter, would you and your family consider being part of the nationwide effort to pray for and get the Christian message to every home in NZ? This service is the kick off to the Hope Booklet delivery this year, please come along if you are able and be part of this effort. Or if you can't be there but would like booklets to deliver in your neighbourhood, please contact Maria Henderson, 022 0966 300.Also there's more information here: https://alltogether.co.nz/hopeproject/
|
|
|
Term Dates for 2026
|
Thursday 29th Jan - Wednesday 1st April (primay) Thursday 2nd April (secondary)
|
|
Monday 20th April - Friday 3rd July
|
|
Monday 20th July - Friday 25th September
|
|
Monday 12 October - 10 December (approx)
|
|
Term 1 Events
|
Monday 16th-18th - E1 Optimist Yachting
|
|
Wednesday 18th - B1 trip to Te Mata peak
|
|
Thursday 19th - Secondary interschool athletics
|
|
Tuesday 24/25th - Y13 Ultimate Frisbee Trip
|
|
Wednesday 25th - B1 & B2 to Mitre 10 Tough Kids
|
|
Thursday 26th - Y9 VIP High Tea
|
Friday 27th - VIP International Lunch
|
|
Wednesday 1st - Easter Assembly 8:45am
|
|
Thursday 2nd-Monday 13th - Vietnam Cultural Trip
|
|
Thursday 2nd - Primary Teacher Only Day
|
|
Tuesday 28th - Primary Teacher Only Day
|
|
Tuesday 28th - Secondary Parent Teacher Interviews - 12:45 finish for secondary students
|
Thursday 30th - Secondary School Parent Teacher Interviews
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
