The Hyphen Project

We're always experimenting, but this week we did some proper scientific ones 🧪🔬

From creating colourful artwork with a few household ingredients to generating electricity from a lemon. 🍋

A great reminder that some of the best learning happens when you're curious enough to ask "what happens if...?" 🤔

Holly recently joined Sandy Hall on the Hall & Hutch Podcast to talk all things Hyphen. 🎙️

From neurodivergence and self-awareness to creating learning environments where young people can forge their futures, this kōrero touches on many of the ideas that sit at the heart of what we do.

A huge thank you to Sandy for having us. We love the thoughtful conversations you create and the space you make for important discussions like this one.

Inside The Hyphen Project with Holly Gooch: A New Approach to Neurodivergent Education | EP10 What if education focused on helping neurodivergent students unders...

We had a wonderful evening with the Lions Club of Remuera, where Holly and Katie had the opportunity to share the story and work of The Hyphen Project.

It's always encouraging to connect with people who are passionate about supporting young people and creating stronger communities. Thank you to the Lions Club of Remuera for the warm welcome, thoughtful questions, and interest in what we're building for exceptional teens as they forge their futures.

We're grateful for every opportunity to share our kaupapa and grow our network of supporters.

🌟 School Holiday Programme - Register Your Interest! 🌟

We're exploring the possibility of running a small-group school holiday programme for 8–13 year olds this July, with sessions led by our talented rangatahi, and we'd love your input.

We know that many young people thrive in smaller, more personalised environments, so sessions would be intentionally kept to just a handful of participants, allowing plenty of opportunity for connection, questions, creativity, and hands-on learning.

We're currently gathering interest to help shape the programme. If you have a child aged 8–13, we'd love to hear:
✅ Which activities they would be most interested in
✅ Which days would work best for your family

For more information and to register your interest, complete the expression of interest form here:
🔗 https://forms.gle/z3c7mEEvVGGCjT2n6

Please feel free to share with other families who may be interested. We look forward to creating something engaging, inspiring, and tailored to the interests of local tamariki.

Last week, our group headed to The Exercise Room to complete our Body Certificates. 💪

A few of our rangatahi have built a great routine of training with Barney each week, and this was a chance for everyone to get involved and learn the foundations together.

The Body Certificates focus on performing key movements safely and correctly, helping our young people build confidence, strength, and good habits that will serve them well in any physical activity.

A huge thank you to Emile and the team at The Exercise Room for taking the time to coach us, share your expertise, and create such a welcoming environment. We appreciate your support of our rangatahi and the learning opportunities you provide.

One thing’s for sure: we’ve been eating well. 🍽️

Lunchtime is a pretty important part of our day at Hyphen. As great as the food has been, it's often the least important part.

It's the chance to slow down, pull up a chair, and catch up. Some of the best (and most random) conversations, ideas, laughs, and debates happen here.

It's also an opportunity for our rangatahi to see meals being prepared from scratch and get involved, sharing food, and gathering around a table together. The food might bring us together, but it’s the people around the table who make it special.

Enjoy these snapshots from recent delicious lunches with our crew.

It takes a village to raise a child. And it takes a network of organisations to make a difference. This year, The Hyphen Project was honoured to be given a vote of confidence by the committee of the organisation CLASS (Community Learning Association through Schools). As CLASS closed down, it gifted its assets to us in a nod to our work to continue education for those who haven't found their place in traditional education. A special thank you to Nigel Sutton for nominating us and for all the incredible mahi he continues to do in this space through Wellington Community Education Centre: www.cecwellington.ac.nz/w/

As part of this gifting, we were given stewardship of the Charlie Herbert Award. Charlie Herbert was a pioneer of adult and community education and a passionate advocate for lifelong learning - what some people have referred to as learning from "twinkle to wrinkle" - a philosophy we deeply value. This award is for outstanding educators in the adult and community education sector.

The taonga was handed over to Holly at the ACE Aotearoa conference. This conference is a fantastic celebration of the people and organisations working to create more opportunities for people to learn, grow, and forge their own futures. We were delighted to pass the patu on to ACE Aotearoa to care for and to award to outstanding educators going forward. They play a vital advocacy, leadership, and support role for important, informal education pathways across Aotearoa. Their work continues to make a real difference for organisations like ours and the communities we serve.

We're incredibly proud to have played a small part in carrying this legacy forward. It is a reminder that education is at its strongest when organisations work together, support one another, and share a common belief that learning belongs to everyone.

If you want something, build it. That’s the Hyphen way. 🔨

After realising we needed a workbench on site for our mini makers projects (we have a space off-site for the big jobs), we started searching for one before quickly realising that we've got all the gear and plenty of ideas to do it ourselves. So... we've been designing and building this workbench from the ground up, and it's fitting in perfectly.

We’ve got a feeling this workbench is going to get plenty of use.

One of our teens recently got the chance to spend time with two electricians working on wiring up a house for automation systems ⚡️🏠

They got to see the work in progress firsthand, ask heaps of questions, and hear about how the electricians got into the industry, what training was involved, and what the job is really like day-to-day.

Experiences like these are such an awesome way for young people to explore different pathways and get a real feel for what’s possible. Huge thanks to the electricians for taking the time to share their knowledge and experience with us! 🙌

We’re pretty lucky to be based somewhere with so much to explore ☀️🌿

Being close to the city, the waterfront, and surrounded by parks and gardens means there’s always somewhere interesting to wander. With all the beautiful weather lately, we decided to head out on a photography mission and make the most of it.

There were some awesome shots along the way, and now we’ve got a growing collection of photos up on our walls 📸🖼️