Nau mai haere mai.
Hostel life is busy as we are now well over the halfway mark of Term 1. We have begun the online interview process for the Year 9 2026 boarders. This will lead into our hostel open day on Friday 4 April. It is lovely to meet with whānau that already have a connection with Hewett House and also special to meet the new whānau.
After-school sport is keeping our boarders very busy and the van running at full capacity. It is great to see so many of our ākonga involved in the full life of school.
There has been a little bit of sickness creeping into hostel as the weather is so unsettled. If your daughter is unwell over the weekend please keep her home until she has fully recovered. Thanks for your support with this.
Please remember that we have staff at the hostel awake 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can always call if you have any concerns or worries, to get an adult set of eyes/point of view. My door is always open.
Ngā mihi nui,
Joyce Clark
Joyce Clark, Hostel Manager: 021 245 1862 / hostelmanager@nghs.school.nz
please
note
Friday 4 April: Hostel Open Day for 2026 wait list
Friday 11 April: Hostel closes at 6pm for end of Term 1
Sunday 27 April: Hostel opens from 3pm for the beginning of Term 2
Boarding Finances
Please contact hostelfinance@nghs.school.nz if you have any questions regarding your hostel account.
Change to 5 / 7 Day Status
If your daughter is wanting to change her boarding status ie to 5 day or 7 day this needs to come to the Hostel Manager in writing please.
Sunday Late Dinners
If you require a late/saved dinner on a Sunday night this MUST be booked by 12.00pm on the Sunday by putting your name on the list at the office preferably before you leave on Friday afternoon. If you have not booked a late/saved dinner you will be able to have toast and spreads. We hope you can appreciate that our kitchen team need to be able to plan for accurate numbers. It is very difficult for them when suddenly they need to find 15 – 20 extra servings. Thanks for your support with this.
Special Dietary Students
Please remember that if you have listed yourself as a special dietary requirement you are expected to honour this and not change your mind as something else appeals, the kitchen staff are going to considerable effort to cater for your needs. Once again, thank you for your support.
Over the weekend 12 of our rangatahi from the Young Farmers' Club competed in the East Coast Junior Young Farmer of the Year regionals in Masterton. In teams, we enjoyed completing several modules such as a Foot and Mouth disease module, fencing and trap building. It was a great opportunity for us to be tested on our farming knowledge and showcase our practical skills.
Following the modules, Liana and I were announced as having made the top five and competed in a face off agricultural quiz. We came away with first place from the modules and quiz and will be representing the East Coast region, alongside second place getters from Napier Boys' High School at nationals in Invercargill later this year.
Special mention to Georgie Wilson and Emma Brady who placed 6th! Emma also came away with the prize for Contestant of the Day.
Congratulations to all those who competed. Out of 24 teams we achieved impressive placings:
Liana Redpath & Kaela Brans - 1st
Emma Brady & Georgie Wilson - 6th
Emma McLachlan & Ella McLachlan - 16th
Chloe Lawson & Mia Webby - 17th
Eva Arnold & Andrea Alderson - 19th
Baylee Atkins & Belle Finnie - 21st
We hope to see club members getting involved with this competition again next year!
- Kaela Brans
One of the most frequent requests I receive as Hostel Academic Dean is for tutoring support in subjects where students feel they need an extra boost.
Maths is the most common request, so we are very fortunate to have Mr Mather available for Maths tutoring during Prep on Wednesday nights, primarily for our Year 10-13 ākonga. He can also lend his expertise in Chemistry and Physics – a fantastic resource for students needing help in those areas!
For our Year 9 students, Year 13 ākonga Ruby Hogarth will be offering Maths tutoring on Thursday evenings in the Rec Room.
Beyond these sessions, students can also access extra academic support at school through:
📚 Science Support Club – Tuesdays at lunchtime in the library (Year 13 students assisting with Science learning).
📖 Homework Club – Wednesdays at lunchtime in the library (run by the Academic Prefects, open to all subjects).
There’s no need to struggle alone – help is available! It’s always a good idea to speak with classroom teachers as well, so they can offer guidance.
If you have any academic concerns or queries, please feel free to contact me at ajohnson@nghs.school.nz.
- Ms Amanda Johnson (Mandy)
Kia ora.
Welcome back Mrs Clark, we’ve missed you! We all had heaps of fun at the school Splash and Dash, it was great to introduce the Year 9s and other new students to one of our many fun school competitions.
Over the weekend Chimari went to a New Zealand Boarding School Association hui in Palmerston North. She learnt a lot of new leadership skills and is excited to bring lots of new ideas to the hostel!
Many of our hostel rangatahi went to the East Coast Junior Young Farmer regionals on the weekend and were successful! We were all very excited to have our school athletics today at Marewa Park. We hope everyone had fun!
- Chimari, Kaela and Georgia
We love celebrating successes at Hewett House.
If you have some news (and/or photos) we would love to hear about it so we can include it in future pānui editions :)
Six NGHS students competed in the Dennis Ward Tennis cup at the Onekawa courts this week. They played really hard and never showed signs of giving up. Our very own Year 10 boarder Sophia Morris won the Junior Girls Division! Congratulations Sophia! 👏
Keeva was part of the Rangitikei Women’s Rafting Team that competed last week in the R6 Pacific Cup Rafting Competition which was held on the Buller in Murchison. Keeva has qualified to be part of the team that will be off to Malaysia to represent NZ in the World Rafting Championships in December.
HEWETT HOUSE TEAM
Lynley Keehan, Reception (weekdays): 021 488 758 / hewettoffice@nghs.school.nz (this email is checked seven days a week)
Joyce Clark, Hostel Manager: 021 245 1862 / hostelmanager@nghs.school.nz (this email is not checked seven days a week so if urgent, please email hewettoffice@nghs.school.nz)
Supervisors: Mrs Joan Willox / Ms Sarah-Jane Lothian (mornings), Ms Heidi Chesterman / Ms Te Aroha Hawkins / Mrs Heather McKenzie (afternoons/evenings)
Mrs Michele Glogoski (Friday evening, weekends), Mrs Lynda Jackson (weekends), Mrs Kellie Fulton /Ms Michelle McLellan (overnight)