One of the things we are continuing to focus on is student attendance. You will hear us talking about this with you, with our students and it remains a strong subject of conversation in the staff room. If a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss more thana whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regularschool attendance. All students are legally required to attend school every day and it is a shared responsibility to make sure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school. You must let the school know if your child is going to be absent or intends to be absent for a portion of the school term for whatever reason, like a tangi or medical procedure.  

Family holidays or taking time off for extracurricular activities (not organised by the school) are not acceptable reasons for being absent.

We know that autumn certainly brings its crisp mornings and winter with all its chills, bugs, and colds. Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school can be tricky at times. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora have refreshed their guidance for schools and parents to use to help make that call. Check out the Ministry of Education website for more information. If you are stillunsure, get in touch with us. At our school, we have strong processes and hygiene practices in place to make sure our school environment is as healthy as possible for our students and our staff.

If you are struggling at home with getting your child to school, talk to us! Our school is committed to supporting your child to attend school and building a culture that fosters excellent attendance by having:

• School staff who have strong relationships with students and whānau.  
• A school culture that recognises your child and your family for who they are, where they come from, and who they want to be.
• A school community that does everything to make sure students are at school, and they are participating, and progressing in their education.​​​​​​​

Parents and caregivers can find more information here.

• Polo top

• Polar fleece or Shell jacket

• Boys' shorts , black socks with (1 pair) or without green stripes

• Girls' shorts  or girls' skirt/skort, white fold-over ankle socks worn with shoes 

• Black tracksuit pants can be worn. No other colour on the tracksuit pants is permitted and these tracksuit pants are not to be worn for PE. We advise that in terms 1 and 4 tracksuit pants are not worn.

• Black tights may be worn with the skirt and shoes in terms 2 and 3

For PE  and sports only:

• PE shorts or cycle shorts (black, no logos) worn at school, but not to or from school. Only one layer - not cycle shorts AND PE shorts over top. The cycle shorts must be no longer than the knee and no shorter than mid-thigh. Our PE short is a length that is appropriate for school and the activities within our curriculum.

• PE top (worn at school, but not to or from school)

Sandals: We prefer students to wear plain school-style black sandals for summer, although brown is acceptable. Shoes: Students should wear lace-up black school shoes or sneakers. The laces must be black. Shoes are all black and have no colour other than black.  No coloured soles, please. High basketball style shoes (high tops, chucks) are not to be worn or slip-on shoes.

School hats are available at NZ uniformsand are expected to be worn everyday in terms 1 and 4.  If you would prefer your child to wear a wide-brim plain black hat, please feel free to source one as these are not readily available from our supplier. Names can be written or embroidered on the outside at the back to prevent hats from going missing.

If hair is long enough to sit on the shoulders it should be tied back with dark-coloured hair ties. Black or brown headbands are permitted. Plain hairstyles are expected, with fringes being clear of the eyes. Black or hair-coloured scrunchies (plain, undecorated) can be worn. Hair is to be natural and no coloured by any products.

Jewellery is limited to:

• One pair of plain metal (silver or gold) studs (clarified; not greater than 4mm in diameter) or sleepers- no stones no colours, no dangly earrings, animals, shapes, cuffs etc. NO FACIAL PIERCING. 

• Nose Piercings - Any student that has a nose piercings must either have an internal clear in their nose piercing or remove it. Outsides clears and Plasters will not be an acceptable form of coverage,

Taonga - Cultural (e.g. bone carving, pounamu), religious (e.g. Catholic cross, Hindu shakti) - at HNI there is a right to wear the appropriate items without prejudice or bias - Taonga is best kept underneath clothing during Technology classes - should be removed for PE & Sports lessons, all due to safety for not being caught and or ripped off; protecting the wearer or those interacting with you if in a physical capacity. The same should apply to watches in PE/Sports in contact activities (as observed in competitive sports too where referees will often check items aren't being worn). Taonga can be worn on the outside of clothing if not at Tech/Sport. School students have a right to express their Tikanga. It’s also in recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi guarantee and obligation to protect and promote. It is the responsibility of the wearer to look after their Taonga - this may mean wearing it under their clothing during intervals and lunch if running around and involved in active play. If there is any misunderstanding or misinterpretation of religious intent, this can be explored further and clarified between the classroom teacher and home. Please contact the school office should you have any queries.

No make-up, including eyelashes - fake or extensions and coloured lip glosses or nail polish / fake nails, are to be worn at school. Contact the school office should you have any queries.

Sun Safety:

The Hawkes Bay sun is very strong.  We insist that hats are worn outside in Terms 1 and 4.  Sometimes events take students outside - class trips, sports events, our school athletics and swimming sports etc.  We ask that parents talk to students about the dangers of sun exposure and supply hats, over-shirts, rash shirts, sunblock etc. Whilst teachers discuss these precautions with students and sunblock is available - we also believe there is a degree of personal responsibility in keeping oneself safe in the conditions here.

We do not have a school pool but we do have water-based school days like the Colour Run and trips to local pools etc. It is the school rule that bikinis or two pieces are not to be worn.  

Non uniform days:

Occasionally the school has a non-uniform day/night and a gold coin may be collected to raise funds. Students may dress in their own choice of clothes but these must be school and age-appropriate. Showing midriffs, wearing shortie shorts and crop tops and make-up are not considered to be school appropriate.