Celebration of Sporting Excellence

Outstanding achievements and displays of sportsmanship were celebrated at the 2024 Sports Awards Dinner on Wednesday evening at Alexandra Park.
MAGS also honoured our Director of Cricket, Mr Sail, who is retiring after 22 years of service to the school.
Mr Sail, pictured below, was guest speaker and was presented with a signed cricket bat by 1st XI captain Felix Naish, after he spoke about his journey in the game of cricket from a young hopeful player to coach of the Auckland team before coming to MAGS.
Oscar Vink and Anika Todd, pictured right, were named Victor Ludorum and Victrix Ludorum respectively, while the Headmaster’s Cup for Team of the Year was won by the all-conquering Football Girls 1st XI. The team, coached by Ms Inwood, won the national tournament this year, were unbeaten Auckland Champions and winners of the APC Cup. They also won the Grammar Cup earlier in the year, meaning they won every competition they entered this season and did not lose a game throughout.
The Te Aroha Keenan Cup for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Girls was awarded to rower Olivia Tattersfield, who was the first MAGS female to win a Maadi Cup gold medal.
Marlin Toloa again won the Olympic Cup for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Boys for his continued excellence domestically and internationally in Waka Ama.
Anika, who was also Victrix Ludorum last year, has represented the school in Athletics, Cricket and Football this year. She has excelled in Cricket and has been announced as an Auckland Hearts contracted player for 2024/25 and was Auckland Under 19s co-captain.
Oscar has represented MAGS in Hockey and Orienteering with distinction. He won the MAGS Trophy for Best Player First XI Hockey (Boys) and is 1st XI Boys captain. He has earned a Sports Lion in Hockey and Orienteering for three years in a row. He was part of the U18 Auckland A Hockey team that won the U18 Nationals tournament in Hawkes Bay. He has been selected to attend the Future Black Sticks U18 camp, and was part of the Senior Boys Orienteering team that placed 1st at NISS and NZSS.
You can see more photos and the full list of Blue Caps, Black Caps and Trophy Winners here

Arts Awards Dinner

The MAGS premier Arts event, the Arts Awards Dinner, was held last night at Sorrento in the Park.
Director of Arts Co-curricular Ms Cesan said, "This event recognises the best of Arts students across the Arts faculty. A record number of students and parents attended, and it was a great night.
"A full report on the evening will be coming next week."

Pasifika Awards Highlight Success

On Tuesday night, MAGS students, staff and families celebrated the achievements of our Pasifika cohort at the annual awards dinner at Sorrento in the Park.
At a packed-out venue, guests heard about Pasifika success in NCEA,
Scholarships, sports, arts, service and in the Health Sciences Academy.
Deputy Head Prefect Brianna McCready and Prefect Joshua Waqanivalu, pictured right, were named Best All Round Year 13 Pasifika Students, while Ava Siakimotu and Lockyer Timaloa were named Top Academic Year 13 Students.  
Eved Ah Soon and Joshua won the Tagaloa Peter Su’a Award for Performing Arts, and Eved, Joshua and Asinate Waqalevu won the Ulugia-Pua Award for Outstanding Services to Mount Albert Grammar School.
Eved and Brianna were awarded the Ah Kuoi Family Cup for Services to MAGS Pasifika, while Asinate and Melbourne Ariki were presented with the Tupuola Apisaloma Taulapiu Cup for Cultural
Leadership.
The Top Year 13 Pasifika Sportswomen were Danii Mafoe and Danny-Elle Fesola’i, and the Top Year 13 Pasifika Sportsman was Zacherye Taulapapa.
Year 12 Best All Round Pasifika Students were Khalen Quensell and Epeli Prescott.
Brianna and Eved gave heartfelt and moving speeches about their time at MAGS as part of the Year 13 Address, before the Year 13 Taualaga and the Leavers Video.
You can see more photos and all the award winners here

New Payment System Coming

Parents should be advised that MAGS is partnering with Kindo to introduce a new payment system that will streamline keeping up to date with payments for everything from donations and school trips to ball tickets and sports fees.
Many parents from our feeder schools already use Kindo, and will be able to transfer their accounts to MAGS.
Kindo also has an app so you can view your financial status and make payments from your phone.
More details to come soon ...

2025 Prefects Announced 

As we say goodbye to our Year 13 Leavers, the Lions of 2024, pictured above, MAGS is very excited to announce the 2025 student leadership group who have been chosen from an exceptional field of students through a rigorous process.
The Prefect’s role carries great responsibility around service leadership and guardianship of our school culture.
All 2025 Prefects must attend the compulsory Prefects Camp in early December to be held at MAGS’ School House.
Congratulations to all our 2025 Prefects on their appointment. We trust that the 2025 Year 13 student body will support this group in their significant role.
2025 Prefects:
Reuben Adye, Palepua Afoa, Brendan Akeli, Kingston Ballantyne, Paige Barnes-Kilgour, Anna Batcheler, Campbell Buchanan, Kiva Carr, Nina Chalmers, Victor Coen, Lavinia Craig, Yanine de Boed, Divya Desai, Jemima Flatt, Evie Fraser, Mia Gardiner, Issie Hasler, Awanui Hope, Ben Hori-Elliott, Fei-Chang Andrew Hung, Tamatea Jones, Amy Jordan, Luis Kerrigan, Cameron Lai, Thesadi M.k, Catherine Makasini, Sneha Mandadi, Brooke Margison, Kyra-Leigh Masina, Manumea Matautia, Ami McGowan, Phoebe Newcombe, Liam Ng Shiu, Piper O'Neill, Grace Oloi, Ava Poynter, Epeli Prescott, Khalen Quensell, Erich Retzlaff, Romi Ropati, Jarom Rowell, Alyssa Tamihere, Emina Tiatia, Sasha Tobin, LA Tusialofa, Taiga Ueno, Jason Vincent, Claudia Wen, Michael Xue, Tyler Yare.

Arts Lions and Arts Attitude Awards

At a special assembly on Tuesday, Arts Lions and Arts Attitude Awards were presented to the top students across Cultural Activities, Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Art.
The awards were read out by Director of Arts Co-curricular Ms Cesan and presented by Deputy Principal Mrs Cato and BOT Chair Mrs Murphy. 
The assembly also enjoyed a musical performance of the One Direction song Night Changes by Eved Ah Soon, Stanley Fifita, Henri Le Cren, Iose Fatuleai, Elijah Poliko and Erich Retzlaff (on guitar), pictured below.
You can see the Arts Lions here and the Arts Attitude Awards here

Engineering Challenge Winners

Kevin Jia, from the University of Auckland, presented the Pullan Prize to, from left, Felix McElwee,Victor Coen and Ryan Shen at assembly this week. Jacob Miller was absent.

Four MAGS students recently won the prestigious NZ Engineering Science Competition, run by the University of Auckland.
Ryan Shen, Jacob Miller, Victor Coen and Felix McElwee were competing against 274 teams of students from 83 other schools but emerged victorious, winning the Pullan Prize and $1000 each.
The event was a day-long mathematical modelling competition that required teams of students to assemble a report to answer the following question: “How many airships would be required to replace the Cook Strait Ferries?”

Film Night Wows Audience

The MAGS Media Studies' Film Night was sold out, and a very successful evening.
This year, parent actors were a highlight in the Zombie mockumentary The Walking Dad (Charlotte Pullen, Yann Rowe, Jonelle Puletiuatoa) while Rose Leader’s Precious Days was a mature take on the value of living in the present.
Stanley Fifita’s The Raids was a sobering take on his extended family's lived experiences of the dawn raids, shot with gritty realism and challenging content. The evening was capped off with Cormac Fell and Phoebe Newcombe’s Weird Fishes – a Radiohead music video highlighting the editing talent prevalent in the media studies student body.
HOD Media Studies Mr Allen said, "Students, family and friends stayed behind for nearly half an hour after the event, thrilled at the diverse and professional quality of MAGS filmmaking. I would like to personally thank the Media Department – Tom Dale, Hollie White and Thomas Husband – for all their hard work with this amazing group of students.
"We are looking forward to next year!"
You can see some of these videos on the MAGS YouTube channel here

Photography Finalists

Three talented MAGS Photography students have placed in this year’s Stills Photography Competition.
With over 2200 submissions, the judges had an extremely tough job selecting the winners.
TIC Ms Gauntlett said, "The creativity and talent displayed across Aotearoa was next-level!"

Rose Leader: Second Place in ‘Life In Motion’ category, top left.
Te Arini Roberts: Third Place in the ‘Connection’ category, top right.
Caleb Mckerrow: National Finalist in the ‘Altered’ category, above right. 

YES Teams Win at Regionals

Two business groups from MAGS won big at the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Tāmaki Makaurau Regional Awards on Monday night.
The PetProTech business team, pictured above with Mr Drumm and TIC Ms Gill, won the ‘Company of the Year’ award and the ‘Excellence in Technology’ award. Their NFC-enabled pet tags, devised by their Production Director, Krrish Patel, provide an easy solution for owners to find lost pets. The Young Enterprise Trust will be paying for two team members and Ms Gill to go to Wellington and compete in the National Awards to be held in December.
The business team, Tipu Seedlings, pictured below with TIC Mr Sabiston, won the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ award for creating seed bombs for growing native and non-native plants.
The company’s CEO Ryan Antia won the ‘Individual of the Year’ award for displaying excellent initiative and interpersonal skills. 
Ms Gill said, "Congratulations to all team members from both business groups who put in some amazing mahi throughout the year and have received well-deserved recognition for their excellent entrepreneurial skills."

Scholarship Boosts Farming Ambitions

Congratulations to Sophie Chandler, who has won an Agri Futures Scholarship.
Agri Futures, in collaboration with the New Zealand Rural Games Trust, offers the $1000 scholarships to support tertiary education costs for students from a rural background whose school has participated in the Clash of the Colleges, or is a rural sports athlete.

Despite growing up in the city, Sophie spent significant time on her grandparent's dairy farm in South Auckland and frequently visits family farms across the North Island. Her connection to rural life deepens through monthly hunting trips on friends' rural properties, and next year she will begin a cadetship to become a shepherd at Pukemiro Station in Dannevirke.
During her cadetship, Sophie will complete several agricultural qualifications, including the New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture (Operational Skills) and (Breeding Livestock Farming) facilitated by the Eastern Institute of Technology. Her ultimate goal is to work her way up to farm management.
In addition to her farming ambitions, Sophie has demonstrated a strong commitment to her community by working as a volunteer farm hand and cooking over 120 meals for community pantries. She has also been successful in rural sports, being part of winning the Auckland Clash of the Colleges twice, winning the Northern Region Junior Farmer of the Year in 2024 and placing fifth in the National Junior Young Farmer of the Year competition.
The scholarship will help Sophie purchase her first heading dog, dog box and other essentials to start her dog team.

New Outlook for Students

On Wednesday, Albertian David Miller, a lead meteorologist with MetService / Te Ratonga Tirorangi, visited the Year 11 Geography classes to talk about all things weather.
He gave fascinating insights into how weather data is collected, the international collaboration that contributes to this and the maths behind the forecast.
Year 11 Geography Teacher Ms Hobbs said, "Whilst our classes have been doing their own smaller scale measurements and analysis around the school campus, David shared his experiences of working with major industries such as aviation and Aotearoa’s renewable energy generators, and how he and his colleagues predicted and tracked Cyclone Gabrielle.
"Students agreed they were left with a new-found appreciation of the complexity of something as seemingly everyday as wondering if you need an umbrella."

Amazing Technology Display

Some of the Technology students put their designs and finished projects on display in the Library this week.
The range of products and ambitious plans gave a great insight into the impressive skills the students have developed.

Used Uniform Donations

At this time of year, with students leaving school or outgrowing uniforms, parents should be advised that MAGS accepts used uniform items in good conditions to gift to students in need.
You can drop off used uniform items at the Student Centre, which will redistribute them.

Order Your Christmas Ham Now!

Neat Meat are again helping the Sports Department with fundraising for students in need, with $15 from every ham sold going back to the school.
These are especially delicious and there are only a limited number available. They are great from frozen also. 
You can order here

Internet Banking
School Bank Account number: 12-3029-0300684-00
*Please add the Student ID number, if you have one, student's name and the word 'Ham' as a reference.

Reminder to Empty Lockers

Please be aware that student lockers must be emptied and locks removed before students leave for the year.
Any remaining locks will be removed during the holidays and any contents will be stored at the Student Centre for collection next year.
Students will need to purchase a new locker next year if they want one.

Junior Excellence Recognised

The Junior Excellence Awards for Term 2 were presented to students from Year 9 (pictured above) and Year 10 (pictured below) at assemblies recently.
Certificates are awarded to up to two students from each mentor class at the end of each term. You can seen the list of Year 9 and 10 students here
These awards recognise students who have demonstrated personal excellence by doing one or more of the following:

– shown huge improvement in the quality of work
– submitted outstanding work
– shown significantly improved effort
– exemplified the ‘MAGS Way’ values
– been a highly supportive and helpful member of their mentor class
– persevered through hardship to achieve success

Homestay Families Needed

We are excited for 2025 and our new cohort of international students. 
We have students arriving from the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Chile, Argentina, Germany and Italy.  Stays vary from one term through to a full year.
A host is expected to provide a clean and comfortable bedroom with bed, wardrobe (built-in or free-standing) and drawers, linen and towels, desk and lamp, heating in room and three meals a day plus snacks and laundry.
The application process involves police vetting for all family members over 18 and the completion of an application form. 
This is followed by a home visit from the school. This helps us to know a little more about your family’s interests and lifestyle and enables us to make a well-informed student match.
If you would like some further information, or to receive the application forms, please email [email protected]

Sports Update

Sevens Teams Qualify for Nationals

MAGS Girls and Boys teams both competed in the Auckland Secondary School Rugby 7s tournament last Friday at Otahuhu Rugby Club. 
The Senior Boys went on to win two out of three pool games, still putting them in position to qualify for the semi-finals. The boys put on a phenomenal performance up against Kelston Boys High School in their semi. Falling short by a try on the final whistle, the Boys went on to finish 4th overall in Auckland on points differential. 
The Senior Girls went on to win three out of three pool games, qualifying to the semi-final round where they faced good rivals Auckland Girls Grammar. Unfortunately, despite a hard-fought performance, the girls were unable to beat Auckland Girls which meant they went on to place 3^rd overall in Auckland.  
Both teams qualified for the New Zealand Secondary School Condor Rugby 7s tournament, which will be held on Saturday 30^th November-Sunday 1^st December at Blake Park, Mount Maunganui.  

Albertians Dominate Hockey

Albertians and Hockey Internationals – below from left to right – Brian Rogers, Stewart Mills, Arun Panchia and Danielle Jones. 

Last Friday, the annual Old Boys/Girls hockey games took place with Albertians taking on our Hockey 1st XIs at Auckland Grammar School.
The Girls played first with the Old Girls winning 6-2 after the 1^st XI girls had taken an early lead.
The Boys followed with the Old Boys also winning but this time with a closer score of 2-1. There was a significant performance from Harry Wilmshurst who was playing his first game in goal for the 1^st XI. As a Year 10 in his first year of hockey, Harry had been asked to fill in at lunch that day and did an amazing job.
The games were significant this year for the presentation of Black Caps to three outstanding Albertian players between the two matches.
 
Danielle Jones                 MAGS 1^st XI 2005-09 and captain 2007-09
Danielle has played 100-plus games for Auckland and 26 games for NZ.
The Black Cap was presented to Danielle by Albertian Pat Kika (captain 1972) and Rosa Fox (Head Girl and 1^st XI captain 2023-24)
 
Stewart Mills                     MAGS 1^st XI 1961-62
Played for Auckland through the early 70s with and against a lot of the NZ Gold medalists from Montreal 1976.
Stewart played for NZ in the 1975 series v Canada.
The Black Cap was presented by Albertian Arun Panchia (captain 2005-06) and Oscar Vink (co-captain 1^st XI 2024).
 
Brian Rogers                      MAGS 1^st XI 1957-58
Auckland player in the 1960s and played for NZ in 1967-68.
Brian was accompanied by Mel Jarvis, who played 1^st XI and Auckland hockey with Brian as well as being Auckland tennis champions together for MAGS in 1958. The Black Cap was presented by Albertian Barvant Soma (captain 1979) and Neel Govind (co-captain 1^st XI 2024).
 
Hockey Academy Director Mr Dempster said, "The celebrations continued next door at The Good Home after the games, where Albertians young and old could mix along with parents and supporters. It was a great evening and a nice way to finish the season."

AKSS Lacrosse Boys Battle It Out

The MAGS Boys Lacrosse team competed in the Auckland Secondary Schools Tournament during the school holidays. 
They had been training well during all of Term 3, and this set them up for the fast-paced sixes format of Lacrosse, which was recently accepted as an Olympic sport for the Los Angeles 2028 games.
Their first game against Westlake was a back and forth nail-biter, but MAGS ended up being just edged out with a final score 4-5.
It was tough to score during the next game against Rosmini, but Aidan Michie stood up strong in goal for MAGS. The semi-final vs Westlake was another tough encounter against the eventual tournament winners. MAGS battled very well all day. 
They are looking to keep up the training during Term 4 to prepare for the 2025 AKSS Tournament. Get in touch with the MAGS Sports Dept. if you are keen to join. All welcome and no gear required. 
Many thanks to Coach and Albertian Sam Nash, and to the great showing of support by parents and caregivers during the day.