Student Art Expo Winners Announced

The MAGS Student Art Expo had a preview session today – ahead of its opening tomorrow –  with student prize-winners announced.
Following a speech from Mr Drumm, in which he thanked the assembled student artists and Expo organisers, HOD Visual Arts Mr Corkery announced the winners.
Joe Mitchell, pictured above with his work, won the Senior Painting prize for 'Discover', while Sophie Coles ('Plant a Seed'), below left, and Eva Woods ('awhi i te aroha - to embrace the love'), below right, topped Senior Design and Senior Photography respectively.
Evie Bruns won the Top Junior Award for 'Little Timeless Joys'.
The Expo is open to the public with free entry tomorrow from 9.30am–4.00pm in the F.W. Gamble Hall.
There are displays of painting, photography, ceramics, digital posters, and technical design, with many works available to purchase. Wearable art pieces feature prominently, and there will be performances by some of our talented music students throughout the day.
The Expo is also a celebration of our talented alumni, with recent graduates showing off some stunning works.
Come and support our alumni, and their creative careers, and be inspired by the incredible talent growing out of our MAGS community.

Gumboot Friday Boosts Mental Health

Leading up to Gumboot Friday, its founder Mike King visited MAGS and spoke about mental health to Wednesday's Year 12 Assembly.
His visit was organised by Year 13 student Lucy Couling, who is a member of the Health Committee, which is running Gumboot Friday at MAGS.
Mr King, pictured right with Lucy, who found fame as a comedian and TV personality, established Gumboot Friday to raise funds for free counselling sessions for young people in Aotearoa.
On Wednesday, he told the assembly about his struggles with mental health, and emphasised that most people who had those problems mistakenly believed they suffered them alone. He urged students to reach out and talk, and to be inclusive towards those who seemed to be always left out.
Today saw students wearing gumboots and making donations, and gumboot-throwing on the main field at lunchtime. There was also a bake sale at interval with money going to Gumboot Friday. 
For more information about Gumboot Friday, click here

School Finishing Early for Careers Expo 

The annual MAGS Careers Expo will be held next Tuesday, August 5 from 4pm-7pm.
On this day, school will finish at 1.25pm. This letter was sent to parents earlier this week to explain that this will allow time for students to exit the school, for the classrooms to be reconfigured and for the numerous tertiary institutions and industry providers to arrive and get set up.
Students and their families are encouraged to come along to learn about the different course options available at MAGS and gain information about tertiary study and future pathways.
This evening is particularly important for students in Years 10-12 and is a great opportunity to build on conversations had during Three Way Conferences before option choices open up for 2026.

Geography Quiz Winners Again!

On Wednesday, Dioecian hosted the Auckland Central region round of the National Maatangi Whenua Year 11 Geography competition.
Students from across the region were pitted against each other in rounds including map skills, Aotearoa knowledge, current events, and 3D modelling.
When the scores were tallied at the end of the evening, MAGS Team 1 (Isabelle Kubala, Dhruvi Patel and Sudais Noman) pipped Auckland Grammar by one point to secure second place. However, they were not able to close the eight-point gap on the winning team – MAGS Team 2 (Adam Gregg, Luke Bannan and Alex Cawsey).
In the last nine years of this competition, MAGS has won on seven occasions, including three first and second placing doubles, and claimed second place in the other two years.
The teams now face a nervous wait for results from the other regions to see where they will place on the National leaderboard.

Night of the Classics On Sale

Our annual classical music concert is coming up next Wednesday and tickets are available from the Kindo Shop here, with limited door sales on the night.
The concert, featuring our top musical talent, will be held in the F.W. Gamble Hall next Wednesday, August 6 at 6.30pm.
 
 

Big Challenge for Tough Guys and Gals

Year 12 PE students took on a muddy challenge yesterday when they took part in the Tough Guy / Tough Gal Challenge at Kumeu Showgrounds.
HOD PE Mr Scaife said, "Absolute great day! Student William Wood took out a podium finish in 3rd place from an extremely competitive field. The whole course of students put in their best efforts and have come away with an experience they will never forget.
"The course was one of the toughest I've seen in recent years with the recent downpours, and every one of our students should be proud of themselves! Their teachers sure are!
"This event concludes their learning of applying biophysical principles in training for the toughest of mud runs."

Students work on Cyber Safety

With this being Netsafety Week, the library featured cyber safety as one of its displays, and the Student Technology Leaders created an online quiz for students. 
There were over 665 entries, and 620 students scored 11-13 points to qualify for an entry. The lucky winner was Yuvain Jayasekara.
Several Student Technology Leaders have been helping the ICT Department on Thursdays and Fridays over the course of the year. 
Their last event this year will be the annual Digital Day on the last Tuesday lunchtime of this term. The event is always popular with students, as they are able to win small treats when answering questions about AI awareness, avoiding scams and being safe online.

Arts and Culture Photos Next Week

Arts, Culture and Service Group formal photos will be taken next week on Thursday, August 7 and Friday, August 8.
Students need to be in correct uniform and should arrive 10 minutes before their group's allotted time.
The photo schedule is here

Quiz Night Tickets on Sale

The MAGS Quiz Night is back and happening next Friday, August 8, from 6–10pm in the F.W Gamble Hall.
This year’s event is in support of UNICEF, a global organisation dedicated to protecting children’s rights and delivering vital aid to young people in over 190 countries.
All proceeds from the night will go directly to this important cause.
Gather your team of 8 and start preparing for a night of trivia, fun, and friendly competition.
Earlybird tickets are $96 per table ($12 per person) until this Sunday, July 27, then after that $128 per team ($16 per person) – and are available now via Kindo here

Winter Sports photos Available

Parents with children who had Winter Sports Photos taken should have been emailed their child’s unique Key Code so they can go online to view and purchase the photos. 
Parents should check their inboxes and/or their spam and junk folders for the email from PhotoLife.
Free delivery expires at midnight on Sunday, August 17.
Please contact PhotoLife if you have any queries: [email protected]

Board of Trustees Nominations Reminder

There is still time for you to get your nomination in to join our School Board. We need seven parent representatives to join the Mount Albert Grammar School Board.
Schooled Election Pilot have been appointed as the Returning Officer for this election.
We have already sent out nomination forms by email or by post, however, if you need additional nomination forms, or want a copy in Te Reo Māori or another language, just contact the Returning Officer directly on 0800 VOTENZ (0800 868 369) or [email protected].
The clock is ticking. Because nominations close at noon on 6th August 2025.
You can email in your nomination, complete it online at www.boardelections.nz or fill it in and drop
it off to the school office. You can also send in a candidate statement and smiling photo with your nomination as well.
A copy of the electoral roll is kept at the school office and is available to be checked during usual school hours.
Voting closes at 4pm on 10^th September 2025.

Albertian Leads Tactix to Netball Premiership Win

Last weekend, the Tactix faced the Northern Mystics in the final of the ANZ Netball Premiership.
The Tactix had never won this competition and were regarded as underdogs but came out convincing winners 58 to 46.
The Tactix were captained by Erikana Pedersen, who attended MAGS from 2008 to 2012. She was a member of the Premier Netball Team for five years – as pictured top and bottom – during which time the school won a number of Auckland and National Championships. 

In 2012 she was co-captain of the team which won both the Auckland and New Zealand titles. She also served as a school prefect.
Erikana was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Schools team from 2010, and in 2013 was a member of the team which won the World Youth Netball Championship. She played for the Northern Mystics in 2013 and 2014, then transferred to the Tactix in 2015.
In 2022 she retired from Premier Netball but returned to play for the Tactix last year. In 2017 Erikana represented New Zealand in the Fast5 Netball World Series and the following year she played in the Silver Ferns Team which defeated Australia in the Constellation Cup.
Playing in the Northern Mystics team was Holly Rae, who attended the school from 2011 to 2015 as Holly Fowler. Holly was a member of the 2012 team captained by Erikana and went on to captain the 2015 team that won the New Zealand championship.
The successful 2012 team was coached by TeAroha Keenan, who is currently one of our Directors of Sport at MAGS, and by Paul Smith, who is currently the Auckland Netball Open Coach.
Seated in front of TeAroha are Maia Wilson and Jaimie-Lee Price. Maia has played for the Northern Stars since 2017 and is the captain this year. Maia has also represented New Zealand in Basketball and Netball. Jaimie-Lee Price has represented Australia in Netball since 2018.

– Greg Cave, Archivist

More Rail Disruptions

There will be more disruptions on Auckland's rail network in the coming months in preparation for the City Rail Link’s opening next year.
Throughout late-July and August, there will be some weekend closures that will impact the Southern Line and the Western Line.
During the September school holidays there will be temporary changes to the timetables on most lines and, on the Southern Line, buses will replace trains between Puhinui and Pukekohe Stations.
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August
Western Line: partially closed between Waitemata (Britomart) and Newmarket and New Lynn and Swanson
Southern Line: partially closed between Waitemata (Britomart) and Newmarket
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August
Western Line: partially closed between Waitemata (Britomart) and Newmarket and New Lynn and Swanson
Southern Line: partially closed between Waitemata (Britomart) and Newmarket
Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August
Western Line: trains are running at a reduced frequency between Swanson and Henderson station.

Sports Update

NZSS Swimming Golds

Photos courtesy of @swimming_nz and Deborah McKay Montgomery

MAGS sent a team of 18 swimmers to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Hamilton this past week. The four-day competition is the top short course meet for age group swimmers and has the highest number of attendees for any meet in New Zealand. 

MAGS’ stand-out performer was Year 9 Marli Coverdale, pictured left, who won six medals across the championships. She won three out of four of the freestyle events in her age group (400m, 200m and first-equal in the 50m) and was second in the other (200m). She also showed her versatility, winning a silver and bronze in the 50m Butterfly and 100n Individual Medley respectively.
Emma Ruter and Kiri Lovatt picked up a silver breastroke medal each in the Girls 16 years age group, Emma in the 50m and Kiri in the 100m (second-equal).
Our relay teams also performed well against some strong opposition, with some of the MAGS teams narrowly missing out on the podium by fractions of a second. The team swam many personal best times, and a few picked up qualifying times for other National meets that are coming up in the next calendar year, which was a goal for many of them.
Medallists:
Marli Coverdale – Girls 13 years – Gold in the 400m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle, Silver in the 100m Freestyle and 50m Fly, Bronze in the 100m Individual Medley.
Emma Ruter – Girls 16 years – Silver in the 50m Breaststroke.
Kiri Lovatt – Girls 16 years – Silver in the 100m Breaststroke.

Fencers Take Boys and Girls Titles

It was a thrilling day of parries, lunges, and cheers as nine Mount Albert Grammar fencers stormed the pistes at the Auckland Schools Fencing League held at Te Pai on Sunday.
Coach Kyle Macdonald said, "With blades flashing and friendships flourishing, MAGS made their mark in one of the most action-packed and fiercely contested meets of the season.

"The boys were first to hit the strip — and what a start it was! Year 10 fencer Thales Gomes Almeida impressed early, fearlessly mixing it with the more experienced competitors to finish the seeding round tied for 6th."
Leading the MAGS charge was Martino Caccialupi, pictured far right, our visiting Italian international with lightning reflexes, who secured the top spot. Hot on his heels were Elijah Yarr in 2nd and Nico Meyer, pictured on left, in 4th. 
Mr Macdonald said, "The knockout rounds turned up the intensity. Elijah delivered one of the day’s most thrilling comebacks, clinching victory in a nail-biting quarter-final bout with the final hit. But he was edged out by a single point in the semi-finals in a match that swung back and forth.
"Nico, with trademark cool, breezed into the semis only to face team-mate Martino — a clash of styles and experience. Having fenced nearly twice as long, Martino’s precision and poise shone through, earning him a confident win and, later, gold in the final. Three MAGS boys on the podium, and a real show of strength ahead of the Auckland Schools Championship in two weeks!
"But the excitement wasn’t over. The afternoon saw Emi Mason flying the MAGS flag solo in the Girls division — and what a flag bearer she proved to be!
"Despite a slow start, Emi dug deep. Her quarterfinal against a gritty St Kent’s opponent had the crowd on the edge of their seats — a one-point victory that sparked roars of support and groans of disappointment from the opposition school. Rejuvenated and unstoppable, she swept aside the No. 2 seed from Diocesan in the semis, before fencing the final with flair and fire to defeat top seed Pinehurst — and bring home gold."
Final Medal Tally for MAGS:
2 Gold – Martino (Boys), Emi (Girls), 2 Bronze – Elijah & Nico (Boys)

Lacrosse Boys' Season Underway 

The MAGS Boys Lacrosse team got their winter season underway with a thumping 15-5 win over Rosmini College last Friday at MAGS.
The first quarter saw a cagey opening, with MAGS maintaining all of the early pressure and possession. It was only a matter of time before MAGS scored, with goals for Nate Lawson, Charlie Barton and Andrew Hung in quick succession. On defence, Richard Huynh kept his sheet clean with some brave saves in the net. Eli Delowe closed out the quarter with a late score to see MAGS deserve the 4-0 lead. The second quarter saw MAGS continue to pile on the pressure, with one-way traffic and scoring contributions from most of the team for a huge halftime lead, 11-0.
The start of the second half saw the game tighten up considerably. However, Alex Hulot and Nate Lawson shone through to see MAGS extend their lead by one, but the contest had certainly heated up. Rosmini closed strongly to dominate the final quarter, although Caleb Stark and Nate Lawson bagged a couple for MAGS. The final score, MAGS 15 - 5 Rosmini, was a fair reflection of the game.
Player of the Day: Goalkeeper Richard Huynh with 13 saves, and a dangerously searching run deep into the game.
Many thanks to the officials and all the supporters for turning out. It was excellent to see six New Zealand Men's Lacrosse players come along to support the new generation of MAGS Lacrosse talent. 

Upcoming Premier Sport

The Basketball Premier Girls and Boys are away tonight, with the Girls playing Northcote College at the Transformation Academy at 6pm, and the Boys facing Dilworth College at 6.30pm. The Football Boys 1st XI play Westlake Boys High at 7.00pm at Crum Park.
Tomorrow, our Netball Premiers play St Mary's College at Auckland Netball at 9.30am, while the Rugby Boys 1st XV have an away game, their last game of the season, against St Peter's College at 2.30pm.
On Wednesday, the Football Girls 1st XI have an APC game at home to St Kentigern at 4pm, while the Hockey Boys 1st XI face Pukekohe High at Kolmar Turf at 4.30pm.
On Thursday, the Hockey Girls 1st XI play Baradene at Mt Roskill Grammar Turf at 4.50pm.

More sporting fixtures here