Tēnā koutou, e te whānau o Howick College,
 | | Attendance is crucial for both student wellbeing and academic achievement.
Prioritising student wellbeing is fundamental for any school. Ministry of Education studies reveal that regular attendance is correlated with more positive wellbeing outcomes. According to MoE analysis, students who skip school days tend to report worse outcomes across various measures of wellbeing, including schoolwork-related anxiety, a diminished sense of belonging, and lower motivation.
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Furthermore, attendance significantly impacts student attainment. Research indicates that each additional half-day of absence from school correlates with a consistent reduction in the number of NCEA credits students subsequently attain. This applies whether a student's attendance drops from 100% to 99% or from 71% to 70%. Even students with what is considered "regular" attendance (5-10% absence) tend to obtain fewer NCEA credits than those with higher attendance rates. In essence, evidence suggests that there is no "safe" level of non-attendance that doesn't impact student wellbeing and attainment.
At Howick College, we are dedicated to setting our students up for success. To achieve this, we closely track student attendance through various systems and processes. Subject teachers take the roll in each class and all unexplained absences are monitored and followed up by tutor teachers and deans.
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This year, we have raised our expectations for our students in all aspects of school life, beginning with attendance. Being present demonstrates commitment, one of our core 4C values, to education. We are pleased with the progress made in the first five weeks of this term and hope to see it continue. Congratulations to Bell House and the Year 13 cohort for having the best attendance to date.
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Have a great weekend,
Dale Burden
Principal/Tumuaki
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Monday 18 - Saturday 23 March
Summer Tournament Week
Friday 29 March
Good Friday (public holiday)
Monday 1 April
Easter Monday (public holiday)
Tuesday 2 April
Easter Tuesday (school holiday)
Friday 12 April
Term 1 Ends
Thursday 25 April
ANZAC Day (public holiday)
Monday 29 April
Term 2 Begins
Thursday 09 May
Po Fiafia Evening
Friday 17 May
Pink Shirt Day
Saturday 18 May
Senior School Ball
Friday 31 May
Teacher Only Day
Uxbridge Fridays@12 Concert
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Year 9 Meet the Tutor Teachers and Deans
The evening commenced with a presentation from our principal and associate principal.
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Parents had the opportunity to meet their child's tutor teacher and deans.
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On Wednesday evening more than 300 parents attended the 2024 Meet the Tutors Teachers and Deans evening at Howick College. Mr Burden and Dr Bennett began the evening by sharing the three key strategic themes for the year. They also demonstrated how the Howick College website and the portal can be used to stay engaged with your child's learning. The key messages from this very successful evening were:
- ensure your child is meeting the uniform expectations
- check their attendance weekly
- school reports will be shared by the end of Term 1.
Following the formal presentation, parents had the opportunity to break out into smaller House groups where they met with their child's deans and the tutor teachers for a Q and A session. Parents were encouraged to reach out to their child's tutor teacher if they have any questions or concerns and to please stay connected throughout their child's five year learning journey at Howick College.
Celebrating International Women's Day
Inka is currently pursuing a PhD in Biological Sciences, studying the impact of climate change on our native seabird, the sooty shearwater.
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Inka explains that when you seize an opportunity, more opportunities will present themselves.
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Inka with Z-Club Leaders and Zonta East Auckland Representatives.
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Howick College Z-Club encourages us all to support and inspire inclusion.
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Friday, 8th March was a highly-anticipated day at Howick College, as crowds of students gathered in the Bill Dimery theatre to celebrate International Women’s Day. The event, organised by Z-Club (a branch of Zonta), began with a powerful mihi whakatau from our college kapa haka group. Following this, Z-Club’s elected student leaders for 2024, Prajna Chaudhry (president), Yoshini Anantharangan (vice president), Stella Donaldson (secretary) and Kate McCloughen (treasurer), introduced the guest speaker, PhD student and inaugural Howick College Head Girl and 2018 Senior Scholar, Inka Pleiss. Celebrated for her environmental activism, community outreach, and research on the impacts of climate change on Aotearoa-native seabird, the tītī (sooty shearwater), Inka delivered a powerful and inspiring presentation.
The theme for this year's International Women’s Day, 'Inspire Inclusion,' aimed to highlight issues affecting female-identifying members of our society and encourage us all to speak out on these systemic problems. Inka urged every Howick College student to not only inspire inclusion within society but also within themselves: to seize every opportunity they receive, connect with others in the community, and explore their passions. This motivational speech was followed by the presentation of over 60 paper yellow roses, handmade by Z-Club’s loyal members, to acknowledge all staff, student leaders, special attendees of the event - including East Auckland Zonta members - and Inka herself, for their contributions to empowering Howick College students. The yellow rose is a worldwide Zonta tradition, symbolizing joy and friendship. The leaders also recognized and thanked Mrs Neera Sundrum, Z-Club’s dedicated teacher-in-charge, with a special presentation.
‘Today, we celebrated the successes of women and acknowledged how far we have come,’ explained Prajna Chaudhry. ‘It was also a day where we recognised those individuals who fought for equal rights for all genders. Every day, I wake up grateful to be the president of Z-Club, a position where I can help to empower and create opportunities for young women across Howick College.’
Howick College Z-Club
Howick Youth Council Principals' Breakfast
 Monday morning marked an early start for our three Howick Youth Council (HCY) representatives, (from left) Kate Donnell, Prajna Chaudhry, and Bhavya Madan, along with Associate Principal, Dr Bennett, as they set off to attend the 2024 HCY Principals' Breakfast.
Each year, the Howick Youth Council selects two school representatives from each school to join its ranks. This year, Prajna, who has served as a school representative for the past two years, along with Bhavya, are representing Howick College. Kate, as leader of the communications team, fills an open seat, contributing to maintaining the council's brand and advertising efforts. As members of the HYC, this trio will collaborate to represent and empower the youth in our community. With the support of the Howick Local Board, they will organise and oversee large-scale events such as the Cultural Showcase, Youth Week, and Mind Matters throughout the year. These events are designed to advocate for youth interests and provide more opportunities for our young people.
The breakfast served as an opportunity for the 30 new council members from the 7 East Auckland high schools to mingle and get to know each other better. Our rangatahi also had the privilege to meet key figures from the Howick Local Board, including Damian Light (Chairperson), as well as the principals from local intermediate and secondary schools, to discuss their plans for the year. During the event, each representative delivered a formal speech outlining their strategic alignment for the upcoming year.
Well done Kate, Prajna and Bhavya, we are immensely proud of your commitment to representing Howick College and volunteering your time to serve the youth in our community.
Join the Fight Against Moth Plant
Members of the Howick College Envirogroup tackle moth plant vines in our own backyard. (Back) Ishika Kapadia, Tamara Hendry, Nina Chiang, Brian Lee, Aakarsh Nair, (Front) Rylee Barrett, Kaitlyn Daintree, Denzel Daimaano,
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Moth plant, is a noxious vine that smothers native vegetation. Each seed pod contains hundreds of seeds, one of the reasons why the vine has so successfully increased its presence around the upper half of the North Island, destroying native landscapes.
To help battle the spread of moth plant, the Howick College Envirogroup invites you to join one of the three Howick College teams we have formed (or form your own team), to take part in the Howick Ward Moth Plant Pod Competition. Contact Mr Henty about these teams or come to an Envirogroup meeting to find out more details. Meetings are held every Tuesday at lunchtime in D10.
Prizes include:
1st $500, 2nd $400, 3rd $300, 4th $200, 5th $100,
6th-8th - $50, 9th-10th - Certificates
Top Secondary School Team (maximum of 10 people) - $500
Thickest Vine - $150
Most Small Vines Pulled By the Roots - $150
Special mystery prizes for teachers and students.
Last day for registration is 5 April 2024.
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Hong Kong Students Experience Howick College Life
 Students from Yan Chai Hospital No 2 Secondary School in Hong Kong with their teacher, Mrs Wong. | |  Getting to know their Howick College buddies who will help them become familiar with our school. | |  ESOL teacher, Mr Hancock, gives a brief explanation about where we are in the North Island. |
This week, we welcomed a group of five students from Hong Kong for a proper Kiwi student experience. After their first day of orientation and meeting their Kiwi buddies, they are now enjoying the broad curriculum with exciting subjects such as Food Technology, Moneywise or Practical Arts, and brushing up on their English skills.
We wish them a successful week at school and a fantastic time with their lovely host families!
Howick College Book of the Week
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
Since Shelbi enrolled at Windward Academy as a senior and won't be there very long, she hasn't bothered making friends. What her classmates don't know about her can't be used to hurt her - you know, like it did at her last school. Andy Criddle is not okay. At all. He's had far too much to drink. Again. Which is bad. And things are about to get worse. When Shelbi sees Andy at his lowest, she can relate. So, she doesn't resist reaching out. And there's no doubt their connection has them both seeing stars . . . but the closer they get, the more the past threatens to pull their universes apart.
This novel deals with the issues of mental illness and addiction. It is suitable for students in Year 11 and upwards.
Come and borrow it from L6
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Study Centre - New Location
Where: A4
When: Every lunch time
What: A quiet place to work
Individual tutors will not be available for the first few weeks of term, but all students are welcome to come along and work independently in this quiet space during lunch times.
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Careers Department
STAR Short Courses
If you are in Yr 12 or 13 and interested in attending a school funded short course during the holidays, please visit the Careers Department to find what course are available.
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University of Waikato Visit
The University if Waikato will be here on Wednesday 20 March to talk about student life on campus, programmes they offer, scholarships and more. If this is something you are interested in hearing what they have to say, please come to the Careers Department (H3) at the start of interval.
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Sports News
Jubilant Team Through to Premier Competition
It was a triumphant conclusion to the season for our 1st XI Girls Cricket team as they took a convincing win against Macleans College on Wednesday. Winning the toss, our girls opted to bat first, with Zamera Ikiua (52 runs) and Neena Woollaston knocking up an impressive 100-run opening partnership. By the end of their 20 overs, Howick had set Macleans a challenging target of 160 runs to win. Early tight bowling from Milly Belcher and Neena Woollaston sent Macleans' required run rate skyrocketing. With Danielle de Villiers and Nitya Choudary also contributing with a few wickets, the task became insurmountable for Macleans, who fell short of the target by 43 runs.
This victory means that the team has now qualified to play in the Premier Competition next season. Congratulations to all on this outstanding achievement!
Cricket 1st XI Boys Take The Win Over BDSC
Last Saturday our 1st XI Boys Cricket faced Botany Downs Secondary College. BDSC batted first and were dismissed for 138. The standout of an impressive Howick College bowling display were Sam Read with 3-19, Ethan Blyth with 3-33, and Trent McVeigh with 2-27. The bowlers were backed-up by some excellent catching in the outfield.
In reply, Howick reached the target with 3 wickets remaining. Despite losing 4 early wickets, consecutive 50+ run partnerships, firstly between Saket Kapania (20 runs) and Trent McVeigh (53), and then Jack Read (26 not out) with Trent, brought the boys home.
The match marked the final one for Mark Blyth (back row, second from right), who has been with the team for the past 2 and a half years, serving most recently in the role of Head Coach. The team and the school extend a heartfelt thank you to Mark for his dedication, passion, and guidance during his tenure as coach of the 1st XI boys. We hope he can now enjoy his Saturdays a little more, and we look forward to seeing him supporting the team from the boundary in the future.
Baseballers Win Club Finals
 From left: Hannis Ellapin, Nate Scordins and Risa Miyata. | | Congratulations to Y10 baseball players (from left) Hannis Ellapen and Nate Scordino (Bacot) and Y9 player Risa Miyata (Bell) on winning the Auckland Baseball Association Club 2024 season finals with their team the Howick Pakuranga U14 Night Hawks last weekend.
Hannis and Nate are also in the Auckland U14 Junior League Team for the NZ League playoffs next month. If their team is successful in winning playoffs, they will go on to compete in the Little League Junior Asia Pacific Qualifier in Korea in June!
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New Club Up and Running
 On Tuesday 5 March, the new Howick College Running Club went for their first run. The club hopes to grow their membership with the view to entering competitions across the region later in the year. Current members include (from left) Mr Steve Dymond, Sean Huang, AJ McConnell, Nathaniel Moran, Ziva Holland, Elia Lagan and Mr Micah Thompson. Any students or staff who wish to join the club should email [email protected]
Sports Notices
Junior Boys Basketball Trials If you are interested in joining up, please come to the trials on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 March. Trials will start at 11:10 am both days and will take place in the school gym. Please bring water bottles and playing gear. | |
Equestrian
Equestrian is a specialist sport and students are required to have their own horse to compete.
Upcoming events (Dressage, Show Jumping, Show Hunter and ODE's) will be advertised in the notices for students interested in entering Please see Ms Hartley in the PE Office if you have any questions.
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Follow Sport @ Howick College
For up-to-date sports results and the latest sports news, follow Howick College Sports on Facebook and Instagram or visit the Sports page on the Howick College website by clicking on the icons below.
Health Centre News
Dental Planet Onsite During School Holidays
The mobile dental van provides free dental care for NZ residents under 18 years of age. Students in years 9-13 can be enrolled for their free check up and treatment from Monday 15 April - Friday 3 May by clicking the link below and following the prompts.
https://analytics-au.clickdimensions.com/cn/avjqi/onlineenrolment
If you can’t access the link, call Dental Planet on 0800 262 2022, or email [email protected]
Physio Appointments
If you require a physio appointment, please book an appointment by emailing Jo in the Health Centre on [email protected]. Parental consent is required for students under 16 years of age and can also be emailed to this address.
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