  Tēnā koutou, ki te whānau o Mount Albert Grammar School.
Earlier this week, a large group of MAGS students and parents attended our Scholarship Information Evening in the F.W. Gamble Hall.
Presentations by key staff and current students set the context for the evening. There was a focus on the value gained by students engaging in the learning that Scholarship offers – as opposed to simply the examination itself.
MAGS has enjoyed great success in New Zealand Scholarship over recent years. But more importantly, it is the critical thinking that Scholarship demands of students that underpins its real value. Students thrive with the challenge of being presented with a contemporary issue and formulating a cogent response with depth and meaning. The open-ended nature of Scholarship provides space for individual creativity and expression – it is an award that can be accessed by any student who is willing to commit to the necessary preparation.
At a time when our national curriculum and assessment system is undergoing significant review, New Zealand Scholarship stands unquestioned as a beacon of academic excellence.
I encourage every student to consider making Scholarship a part of their academic journey at MAGS.
Make a statement about your own academic aspirations – and give Scholarship a go!
On International Women’s Day we acknowledge the young women of MAGS and all women in our wider MAGS community who add so much to our school. Thank you for all you do.
Have a good weekend
Patrick Drumm
Headmaster
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Click here for the Calendar
Monday, March 18
Summer Tournament Week starts
Saturday, March 23
Te Kapa Haka o Te Puna o Wairaka performs at Polyfest, 8.35am
Tuesday, March 26
Summer Sports Photos
Friday, March 29
Good Friday holiday
Monday, April 1
Easter Monday holiday
Tuesday, April 2
School Closed
Thursday, April 11
Last day of classes for Term 1
Friday, April 12
Staff Only Administration Day
End of Term 1
Photo Essays
 Archery - Barebow and Recurve Division 1
Click here
Trials and Registrations
Click here
Fixtures and Results
Click here
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Our Lion Fund programme aims to provide financial support to allow every MAGS student to access the breadth of opportunities we offer at our school.
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Boarders' Tie Presentation Events |
  Centennial House and School House each had a 'Tie Dinner' this week to formally welcome the new students.
Newcomers are presented with their house tie by their prefects. House ties are worn as part of their formal uniform.
School House also presented three boys with their Excellence tie. These ties are for boys who achieve at an excellence level in one of MAGS' Four Pillars.
There was also a big thank-you to Mara Matenga, pictured above, one of School House's kitchen staff, who retired last year after 30 years of service.
 MAGS held a Scholarship Information Evening on Wednesday for students and parents to learn about Scholarship examinations in New Zealand.
Mr Drumm, Deputy Principal Ms Rose, and Mr Haines (HOD Geography) shared how the intellectual challenge and process of learning the scholarship material is the pinnacle of academic excellence in New Zealand and well worth it, regardless of outcome.
As well, 2023 scholarship winners Gemma McKinney and Deputy Head Prefect Ryan Shen shared their experience, perspective, and encouragement for students to give it a go.
You can read MAGS' Scholarship booklet here and see Wednesday night's presentation here
For more information, please contact Ms Rose or Mr Powell. |
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Our Junior leaders for 2024 were announced and recognised at assemblies this week.
Year 9 (pictured above) and Year 10 Class Representatives (pictured below), Environment
Leaders, Kaea (guardians of the school haka, Takatū) and Captains for
the Interform Competition for the year were announced and presented with
badges and certificates.
You can see more photos of our Junior leaders and their names here  |
Western Line Train Disruptions |
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AT and KiwiRail have announced temporary timetable changes for the Western Line train service while track and drainage improvements are made between New Lynn and Newmarket stations.
From Monday 11 March until Wednesday 24 April, Western Line trains will run:
– Every 20 minutes throughout the day (trains usually run every 10 minutes at peak times on weekdays).
– Every 30 minutes in the evening (from around 8:30pm).
Trains will have six carriages at peak times but will be busy when schools start and end.
To help customers, AT will:
1) Run a supporting bus service – RBWN – from Monday, 11 March until Friday, 12 April. Buses will run from New Lynn Station to Avondale, Mt Albert, Baldwin Ave, Morningside, Kingsland, Grafton, and Newmarket stations every 10 minutes from 7am until 8.30am on weekdays. Buses will not run in the opposite direction, towards New Lynn.
2) Run the 22N bus service more often than usual at peak times. This service connects New Lynn, Avondale, Mt Albert, Baldwin Ave, Morningside and Kingsland stations and the City Centre.
Baldwin Ave Station
From Monday, 11 March until Wednesday, 24 April, trains will only use one platform at Baldwin Ave Station.
From Monday, 11 March until Thursday, 28 March all trains will depart from Platform 1 in both directions.
From Tuesday, 2 April until Wednesday, 24 April all trains will depart from Platform 2 in both directions.
Trains will not run over Easter – from Friday, 29 March until Monday, 1 April.
Journey Planning
Customers can use the AT Journey Planner or AT Mobile app to review their travel options now – they just need to select a date of travel from Monday, 11 March. Help is also available from the AT Contact Centre (phone 09 366 6400) and at its Customer Service Centres.
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Summer Sports Photos Coming Up |
Summer Sports photos and Girls' and Boys' boarding photos will be taken on Tuesday, March 26.
Students should arrive at the hall at least 10 minutes prior to their photo time and must be wearing the correct uniform.
For photo times and uniform details, click here
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WEEK 8
Wednesday, March 20 to Saturday, March 23 – PolyFest. Our Te Kapa Haka o Te Puna o Wairaka is expected on stage at 8.35am on the Saturday. The performances will be live-streamed on Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) here
WEEK 9
Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29, 6.30pm – Level 1 Drama production of Bird Dog, written by Albertian Emily Gough and HOD Drama Miss Hughes. Bird Dog is an Aotearoa Theatre comedy about the small town of Matakana in the aftermath of a mysterious killing.
WEEK 10
Thursday, April 4 and Friday, April 5 – 2024 Unity Concert at Dorothy Winstone Centre, AGGS.
Friday, April 5 – Evening performance, time TBC, Sheilah Winn Shakespeare groups at Avondale College.
WEEK 11
Monday, April 8 – Shakespeare Showcase, 4pm.
Any specific enquiries can be made to Director of Arts Jacqui Cesan – [email protected]  |
  In New Zealand, 1974 is remembered for the Christchurch Commonwealth Games ("The Friendly Games”) and the introduction of colour television.
The New Zealand Cricket team defeated Australia for the first time and the All Blacks had a short unbeaten tour of England, Ireland and Wales. The year was marred by the death of the Prime Minister, Norman Kirk, in August.
The nature of Mount Albert Grammar was changing slowly in 1974. Classes were no longer called 3A, 3B etc. but in the junior school, at least, classes were still streamed rigidly and students were promoted or demoted according to their performance in the school exams.
For several years Form Seven students had been allowed to wear mufti, and photographs from that year show that long hair styles were becoming the norm. Most teachers still called their students by their surnames but a small number were happy to use given names and within a few years this was the norm for most teachers. Corporal punishment was still a feature of school life though its use was diminishing as pressure for it to be banned increased.
The arrival of large numbers of immigrants from the Pacific Islands changed the ethnic makeup of the school as well. Ten years earlier in 1964, Sam Ieriko had been the Deputy Head Prefect and in 1974 the school selected its first Pasifika Head Prefect – Fred Ah Kuoi. Fred was an outstanding sportsman and starred in the 1st XV from 1972 to 1974. He also captained the rugby league team, which won the annual tournament held towards the end of the winter sports season. Fred’s four younger brothers also attended the school and the Ah Kuoi family has maintained its close contact with the school ever since.
The school had success in sport. In Football, one team won the championship, one was runner-up and a third second in zone. Cricket produced two teams which won their championships and one runner-up. Rugby was the most successful sport with the 1st XV winning the championship for the second year in a row and two other teams were runners-up. For the first time there was a competition for students from the third and fourth form (years 9 and 10) which had no weight restriction. This competition was soon to become the Under 15 Colts competition. The Mount Albert team was undefeated over 10 games.
The school roll in 1974 was 1169 and most classes had more than 30 students. A number had as many as 38. The headmaster was Maurice Hall and his deputy was Bill Heron. There were 57 teachers on the staff, which included for the first time a Guidance Counsellor. The non-teaching staff numbered eight.
A smaller roll required fewer buildings. The current library block was built in 1977. On this site in 1974 was an old wooden building housing a prefects’ room, the tuck shop and a covered area for students to shelter. The library was on the second floor next to what is now the conference room. The learning support centre was the gymnasium and it was not until 1984 that a full-sized gymnasium was open. Where the pool carpark is now was the tennis courts, and the playing fields were much more extensive and would remain so until the increase in roll that started just before the new millennium. The hall was still big enough to accommodate the whole school and each day began with an assembly. There were seven periods every day and period changes were signalled by the ringing of the old school bell, which is still in the quadrangle.  |
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Full Squad On Form At NISS Rowing |
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 MAGS rowers put in an impressive performance at the 2024 North Island Secondary School Championships (NISS), winning a number of gold and silver medals in their final full squad regatta for the season.
Competition was fierce with more than 1850 competitors from 79 North Island schools taking part in NISS this year.
MAGSROW crews won gold in the Girls U18 Coxless Pair Oars with Olivia Tattersfield and Lily Curnow, and in the Girls U17 Coxless Pair Oars with Emma Curnow and Lilah Martin, pictured above. Olivia Tattersfield also won silver in the Girls U18 Single Sculls event.
Max Jarvie and Luke Sanders won silver in the Boys U18 Coxless Pair Oars and in the Boys U18 Coxed Four with Ethan Green, Fraser MacGillivray, pictured below, and cox Hamish Toogood.
Every senior MAGS crew made it into the A Final for their events.
The three-day regatta held at Lake Karapiro (March 1-3) also saw strong performances from the squad's younger crews, with both the boys and girls novice crews making it into the A Final of their Coxed Eight events. The Boys U16 Coxed Four crew also made their A Final.
NISS marks the last event of the season for the full rowing squad but 38 rowers from MAGS have qualified to compete at the 2024 Aon Maadi Regatta, being held on Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel from March 18-23. Livestream coverage will be available here
“It has been an incredible season so far, with our rowers really committing to their training and seeing the rewards, whether that is a lift in their crew’s performance or a podium finish,” said Director of Rowing James O’Sullivan. “Maadi is the biggest regatta of the year for secondary school rowing and the focus is now on turning all the year’s hard work - from our rowers and our coaches - into on-water results that reflect their hard work.”
Photos: Riaan Schmulian
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 Waka Ama goes from strength to strength at MAGS, with three gold medals, plus two trophies at the recent AKSS Waka Ama Championships.
MAGS won the U19 Mixed gold in the W12, and the Boys won the W6 500 and 250, the Division Championship award and U19 W6 trophy.
The Girls won W6 silver in the 250m and bronze in the 500m.
It's been a rapid rise through the ranks as MAGS first entered the AKSS Waka Ama Championships in 2019, and won the novice trophy that year.
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Top Results At Zones Athletics |
More than 60 students competed at the Central/East/West Zone Athletics meet on Tuesday.
This is one of the biggest contingents we have had at this meet in recent years.
Our students showed their prowess throughout the day in a variety of track and field events, coming away with 18 top four placings. We were particularly strong in the Intermediate Girls category, especially in the sprint events.
Kendra Scally-Tui finished 2nd in the 100m and 1st in the 200m. This included beating her own school record in the 200m with a time of 24.51.
Maddie Earley had good success both on the track and in the jumping pits. She finished 4th in both the 100m and 200m Intermediate Girls section. She also showed her promise as a jump athlete with a 2nd in the triple jump and a 1st in the long jump. Kendra and Maddie formed a 4 x 100m relay team with Zara Bint and Jessica Freeman to win with a time of 51.83.
It was also pleasing to see several Year 9 students representing the school for the first time and performing to a high level. Ella Kerrigan won the Junior Girls 100m with a time of 12.70. Braxton Brown finished 3rd in the Junior Girls 200m. The 4 x 100m Junior Girls Relay team of Ella Kerrigan, Braxton Brown, Ella Hill and Reine Paeu came 2nd with a time of 53.95. Reine Paeu also had success on the field. She came 2nd in the Junior Girls Shot Put and 3rd in the Long Jump.
Jy Gonzales came second in the Junior Boys 80m hurdles and 300m. He also finished a credible 5th in the 1500m.
His older brother Ty also had a strong showing in a busy day. He finished 4th in the Intermediate Boys 100m hurdles, 2nd in the Long Jump and 6th in a competitive 400m race. Finn McDrury finished 3rd in the Intermediate Boys High Jump on a count-back with a jump of 1.65m and qualified for the 100m final. Dimitri Fruean finished 4th in the Senior Boys Shot Put. Ryan Shen won the Senior Boys Long Jump by 23cm with a jump of 6.24m and came 4th in the 200m.
A big thanks to following staff for their help on the day: Mr Kerrigan, Mr Dempster, Mrs Muir and Ms. Wright. Thanks also to Benjie Fairclough, Jirah Esekia, Maihi Wilcox, Hunter Manukonga and Kianni Hooker, who all assisted with officiating field events on the day.
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 Congratulations to Emi Mason, pictured above left, who won gold with the Auckland Women's A Team at the weekend's NZ U20 qualifier for the Commonwealth U17 and U20 championships.
Emi also finished 7th as an individual, while Shubi Roy earned a bronze medal with the Auckland Women's B Team.
In the Men's, Elijah Yarr won a bronze with the Auckland Men's B Team.
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Orienteers Dominate Podium |
The heavy rain on Monday did not slow down the great results from the MAGS Orienteering team.
At Waitakere College, MAGS orienteers took out 5 of the 6 grades in round three of the Sprint series. Next week, the team heads off to Henderson High.
The competition is about athletes accumulating their points over five events, where the orienteers from around Auckland then head to a finals day in early April.
Top placings from Week 3:
Senior Boys - 1st James Milne
Senior Girls - 1st Charlie Spence
Intermediate Boys - 1st William Wood
Intermediate Girls - 1st Zara Bint
Junior Girls - 1st Chloe Petrie
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