 Get the Foundations Right! |
 Tēnā koutou, ki te whānau o Mount Albert Grammar School.
Today, as the official start of the Autumn season, also sees us rapidly approaching the mid-point of the first school term.
Much of the work over the first month of the term has been about laying the foundations for the year ahead. Students have been establishing themselves in their subject classes – learning the structure of their courses (content and assessment) and building the necessary relationship with teachers and their classmates.
Commitments outside of the classroom have required an equally dedicated approach. The summer sports season is well underway with other codes involved in fitness and conditioning ahead of the winter season.
Cultural groups have come together in preparation for the Unity Concert this term while our Kapa Haka group is practising hard ahead of the upcoming Polyfest.
Dance students are also preparing their routines ahead of competition. Most of these activities are taking place outside of the normal school day and require good planning on the part of students.
The commitment to this level of practice and preparation early in the year can be demanding for our young people – both physically and mentally. And sometimes it can be hard to see the goal being worked towards.
But like most things in life, if we don’t get the foundations right then what follows can be in vain. We simply can’t over-invest in those foundations!
Congratulations to all of our students who are doing just that … and setting themselves up for a strong year ahead.
Our MAGS community has been remembering former Associate Principal Paul McKinley this week after his sudden passing last weekend.
Paul was an important person in the story of MAGS and he is remembered with great respect from his time with us. We will miss him dearly.
Per Angusta Ad Augusta
Patrick Drumm
Headmaster
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Click here for the Calendar
Monday, March 4
School closes at 12pm
Details below
Wednesday, March 6
Scholarship Information Evening, F.W. Gamble Hall, 6pm-7pm
Monday, March 18
Summer Tournament Week starts
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
 Cricket Boys 1st XI v St Peter's
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Trials and Registrations
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Fixtures and Results
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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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 This week saw the hall packed with photo stations as Mentor Class photos and ID photos were taken, along with photos such as the 2024 Prefects pictured above.
Students and parents will be notified when the various photos are ready.
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 Albertian Natasha Greenway (2019-2023), who was last year's Girls Arts Dux, was honoured at the Seventeenth Annual Ara Lodge Art Awards.
Natasha was a keen student at MAGS and one of the Visual Arts Leaders in 2023.
Many students may remember Natasha for her work as student leader of the MAGS Clay and Pottery Club.
Natasha excelled in all her Art subjects at MAGS and was a Scholarship recipient for Painting.
Natasha is continuing her studies in the Creative Arts at Massey University in Wellington.
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Remembering Paul McKinley |
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 Paul McKinley, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, came to MAGS in 2007 with a brief as Associate Principal to help to raise standards across the board.
Then-Headmaster Dale Burden brought in his former colleague to help drive the development of culture and raise academic achievement.
As Paul prepared to leave MAGS in 2017 for his new role as Principal of Glenfield College, he looked back with satisfaction about meeting those challenges, and being able to "bring MAGS back to where it has stood historically – as one of the top academic schools in the country, and the school of choice for our local families”.
He said, “There was always MAGS pride, but now there is self-belief in meeting the high expectations we set of students.
“MAGS has always been known as a great sporting school, but I’m very proud that we’re now referred to as a top academic school first and foremost.”
A celebration of Paul's life will be held on Monday, March 4 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell at 1pm. Attendees are invited, in lieu of flowers, to donate to a charity to be advised by Paul's family.
Paul had a lifelong love for Liverpool Football Club and people can feel free to wear red and white to the service.  |
Early School Closure on Monday |
Parents were sent an email today about school closing early on Monday so staff can attend Paul McKinley's service.
That email from Associate Principal Jo Williams reads:
Sadly, most of our community will be aware that Paul McKinley, Principal of Glenfield College, passed away on Sunday.
Many will also be aware that Paul was Associate Principal at our school from 2007-2017, and will appreciate the significant contribution Paul made to our school values and high expectations.
Paul was a warm and generous friend and colleague to many, and will be deeply missed.
A significant number of our current staff worked with Paul, and will be attending his service on Monday, 4 March as a demonstration of their respect for him and to support Paul’s family.
As a result, on Monday, 4 March, we will be running a shortened day with our students attending Periods 1, 2, 3 and 4, with the school closing at 12.00 noon.
Despite this early closure, I advise that supervised study rooms will be made available for any students wishing to or needing to remain at school until 3.10pm.
I thank you for your support and understanding at this very sad time.
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Albertians Interning at German Parliament |
 
Our HOD German, Mr Gibbs, has been contacted by two former students who report that they have been awarded internships at the German Parliament, the Bundestag.
Isobel Welsford-Ackroyd (2013-2017) and Hugh Malcolm (2014-2018), who were both top German scholars in their time at MAGS, are moving to Berlin after being accepted for the International Parliamentary Scholarship program, which is run in collaboration with Berlin’s three major universities.
Isobel and Hugh will gain first-hand knowledge of Germany’s parliamentary system and political decision-making process during a three-month work placement with a Member of the German Parliament.
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Scholarship Information Evening |
Mount Albert Grammar School welcomes all parents – and students who may be interested in sitting scholarship exams this year – to attend our Scholarship Information Evening on Wednesday, March 6 from 6pm-7pm in the F.W. Gamble Hall.
The evening is an opportunity to get details about the scholarship exam and the process for signing up, and hear from current students who have sat the exam.
Scholarship exams are a richly rewarding academic challenge for our students and we look forward to seeing you at the information evening.
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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 around 8.30am on the Saturday.
WEEK 9
Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29 – Level 1 Drama production Bird Dog written by Albertian Emily Gough.
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]  |
  One of the longest-standing school records for athletics is the boys 880 yards (equivalent to 804.672m) – this record was set in 1956 by Michael Macky in a time of 1:57.8.
He also won the mile race. Third in both of these races was Peter Snell, who is the school’s most famous athlete and was chosen as New Zealand’s Sportsman of the Century in 2000. He was knighted in 2009 and inducted into the school’s Hall of Distinction in 1997.
Michael Macky did not continue his athletics career but it was he, impressed by Peter Snell's ability, who introduced him to Arthur Lydiard, who attended the school in 1931 and 1932 and is probably New Zealand’s best known athletics coaches.
Peter Snell came to the school in 1955 and was heavily involved in a number of sports. He was a member of the senior tennis team in 1955 and 1956 and played for the 1st XI cricket team and the 1st XV rugby team in 1956 and 1957. He won both the 880 yards and the mile races in the school athletics sports, and in the inter-secondary school athletics competition he won the 880 yards, breaking a long-standing record for this competition with a time of 1 minute 59.6 seconds. Three years later in Rome he won his first gold medal in the 800m with a time of 1:46.3.
In his final year at school, Peter was selected as a prefect and he won the Victor Ludorum award, which is given for the best all round sportsman in the school.
In the 1956 athletics team photo one of the coaches is Herbie Towers, who was the first housemaster when school house was opened in 1927. One of the members of the team is K.H. (Kel) White, who was head housemaster from 1973 to 1991.
This year, the winning time for the 800m at the school athletic sports was 2:15.53 by Sam Carryer.  |
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Congratulations to Simon Atkinson, who won two gold medals at the Archery NZ Field Nationals in Hamilton.
He won Gold in the U14 Male Compound division for the Field rounds (marked and unmarked), and Gold in the Youth Mixed Matchplay division.
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Orienteers Maintain Momentum |
 The MAGS Orienteering team has continued with its great start to the year with impressive results at the second event of the Western Zone Sprint Series.
Over 60 MAGS students competed in Event 2 at Avondale College on Monday afternoon. It was especially encouraging to see the new orienteers significantly improve their times and skills from the previous week.
Results from Week 2: Year 9 Girls – 1st Ngaire Bruce, Year 9 Boys – 1st Max Roebuck, Intermediate Boys – 1st Tahi Harris, Intermediate Girls – 1st Zara Bint, Senior Boys – 1st Reuben Adye.
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