Top Academics Celebrated

Senior Prizegiving on Wednesday in the F.W. Gamble Hall was a celebration of our best and brightest.
Ryan Shen swept the top boys' awards, being named Boys Dux and Best All-Round Boy in Year 13, as well as winning a C.P. Liddell Scholarship.
Ciara Anand was named Girls Dux while Brianna McCready, pictured right, was named Best All-Round Girl in Year 13.
There were three more C.P. Liddell Scholarships, worth $15,000 each, presented by John Liddell to Rosa Fox, Rose Leader and Toby Forster.
Head Prefects Toby and Rosa were MCs for the event and also gave their farewell speeches, reflecting on their time at MAGS. There was a musical item – Ubi Caritas –  by our award-winning Centennial Choir under the direction of Terence Maskell.
In 2024, the prestigious Gold Lion was awarded to three students: Rosa Fox, Khalen Quensell and Te Arini Roberts. The Gold Lion is awarded to students who have gained all four Lions – in Academia, Arts, Service and Sport.

Our Boys and Girls Proxime Accessits for 2024 are Jacob Miller and Rose Leader respectively, pictured left. Jacob was also the recipient of the Woolf Fisher Memorial Scholarship, worth $4000 a year for three years; while Rose also won the Sylvia Lamb Benevolence Cup.
The Jim Greatbanks Mount Albert Grammar School Engineering Scholarship was awarded to Agam Aharon and Andrew Kim. Toby Forster and Asinate Waqalevu were honoured for Service to the School with the Isaac Gray Cup and the Girls’ Foundation Cup respectively.
Eved Ah Soon and Emily Lyon were the winners of the Neville Watson Memorial Prize for the Student who Best Typifies the Spirit of Mount Albert Grammar School.
The Best All-Round Pacific Island Student was Elijah Poliko while the Te Puna o Wairaka Whanau Award for Best All Round Māori student went to Oscar Duffy. Te Arini Roberts won the Nga Uri o Matui Tupuni Award for a Māori student who demonstrates outstanding leadership.
The Harry Wichman Cup for Best All-Round Year 12 Boy was awarded to Brendan Akeli, while the  Linda Fraser Cup for Best All-Round Year 12 Girl was awarded to Khalen Quensell, both pictured below.
The Best All-Round International Boy and Girl were Seunyong Han and Dishita Singh respectively.
The Hanson Cup for Senior Progress and Endeavour for Year 12 Boys was presented to Campbell Buchanan, while the Yevette Williams Cup for Diligence for Year 12 Girls went to Sneha Mandadi.
You can see more photos and the full list of prizewinners here

Te Puna o Wairaka Awards

Wednesday night’s Te Puna o Wairaka Dinner was a time for MAGS’ ākonga, whānau and kaiako to come together to reflect on and celebrate a great year for Puna.
Our Puna Year 13 Leavers were also recognised and farewelled with speeches and haka.
As well, there was a formal hand-over of the kaitātaki wahine (female leader) and kaitātaki tāne (male leader) for the Kapa Haka group in 2025. The sounds of waiata and haka rang out as this year’s leaders Te Arini Roberts and Chase Hartley handed over the ‘mauri’ in the form of a patu and taiaha to the two new leaders: Awanui Hope and Kingston Ballantyne.
Guest speaker was Albertian Dharyin Colbert (2011-15), who works in Māori health at the Department of Corrections.

Dharyin, pictured right, spoke about his te reo journey and how it had been different for his older siblings who were more immersed in te ao Māori. He found his way through Kapa Haka and performing at Polyfest and the Unity Concert, which were highlights for him in his time at MAGS.
He said his time at MAGS had given him a good grounding for his life's journey and ongoing connections with the Puna whanau. 
The awards dinner at Te Mahurehure Marae was MC’ed by Puna students Awanaui Hope, who also performed a waiata, and Jarom Rowell. 
Te Arini and Chase gave the Leavers' Address on behalf of Year 13s, mixing in a lot of humour while speaking about their gratitude to the Puna whānau and to Whaea Waimirirangi Paul and Matua Peter Walters (pictured below with some of the Leavers) for all their care and dedication.
When it came to the awards, Te Arini won the Top Senior Academic and was named All-Round Top Senior Student. 
Kingston Ballantyne won the “Manu Tute” Award For Services to Puna and the wider community, while Milla Logan won the equivalent Junior award.
Chase Hartley won the “He toka tū” Award For Contribution to Kapa Haka.
Katie Watkinson was All-Round Top Junior Girl and Top Junior Academic; the All-Round Top Junior Boy was Te Awanuiarangi Mackwood.
The award for Top Senior Māori Language Orator went to Awanui Hope, and Isabella Dunn was named Top Junior Māori Language Orator.
When it came to sports achievement, Milla Logan won the top junior award, and Marnie Toloa the top senior award.
Some new awards were introduced this year, including the Toi Whakaari Award for Contribution to the Arts Pillar, won by Mahara Sialafau. The junior and senior Ngākau Titikaha awards for Upholding Tikanga and Reo Māori within Te Puna o Wairaka and the wider community were won by Patariki Mendes and Riley Golaboski respectively.
You can see more photos here

Arts Dinner Awards

Dux Artiums Josh Waqanivalu and Rose Leader are pictured with Mr Dumm after Senior Prizegiving.

The annual Arts Dinner, recognising the highest achievers in the Arts, was held at Sorrento in the Park last Thursday, October 24. 
The event had the highest attendance ever, reflecting the growth and popularity of the Arts at MAGS.
The event was ably MCed by Head Prefects Rosa Fox and Toby Forster, who were also recognised as Most Dedicated Arts students for their involvement, support and advocacy for the Arts.
Mrs Cato, Deputy Principal overseeing Arts, opened the evening by saying, “The arts matter because we matter, and our stories matter. 
“The arts matter because they allow us to express ourselves and illustrate the world around us in a different light, helping us to gain understanding and give hope.
"So to you, our MAGS Arts students, your artistic expression helps you discover more about who you are, but in doing so you help shape who we are. Our school culture, our connectedness and our collective identity can be reflected in your work and by your work."
Director of Arts Co-curricular Ms Cesan said, "HODs of each Arts subject gave an overview of the year in their subject, and read the citations of each prize winner, clearly demonstrating both their pride in the achievements of each student and passion for their subject area.

"There was entertainment spread throughout the evening, and this was a testament to both the talent and diversity of expression in the Arts."
The first item was a Pasifika medley by three of the senior members of the award-winning Centennial Choir: Eved Ah Soon, Elijah Poliko and Josh Waqanivalu.
Best Male Actor Koru McDonald gave a powerful performance of Awhinatia Ahau, a piece he had devised himself, and two of the award-winning music students, Theo Wright and Gene Todd, performed a guitar piece, Oh Tengo Suerte, accompanied by Mr Watson.
The audience also had an opportunity to see a short compilation of the special moments from the Dance performances and events this year and one of the excellent music videos from Media Studies students Cormac Fell and Phoebe Newcombe – helping to remind everyone of the breadth of talent at MAGS.
Among the special awards, the Centennial Choir was recognised as Outstanding Extra-curricular Performance for their Gold award at the Big Sing Finale; LIze Deng (pictured above with Ms Smith) was recognised (for the second year running) for Outstanding Support for the Arts for his amazing photography of so many of our events; Hailey Martin won the Award for Excellence in Arts Management, not only for her role as Head Arts Prefect but also for her outstanding management of the MAGS Megacrew, who won back-to-back titles for Blueprint NZ schools competition.
The Dux Artiums were named as Rose leader, an outstanding student of media and Visual Arts, and Josh Waqanivalu, a talented dancer, singer and cultural leader.
You can see more photos and all the award winners here

Leavers Day

Our student-led Leavers Day on Tuesday was a roaring success thanks to the work put in by our prefects and staff.
Our 'Lions of 2024' were in high spirits as they attended their last assembly, signed shirts and enjoyed a barbecue.
Huge energy went into the singing of the school hymn and the National Anthem, and there was rousing applause as Year 13 students crossed the stage, later collecting their graduation certificates.
The school wishes them all the best of luck in the upcoming exams.
You can see more photos from the day here

Albertians Association AGM

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Mount Albert Grammar Albertians Association will be held on Monday, November 11, 2024 at MAGS in the Gibbs Room at 6.30pm.
The meeting will confirm the minutes of the 2023 AGM, receive and consider the annual financial statements, and elect officers for 2025.
Please RSVP to [email protected]. If you have any queries, please contact [email protected]

Moving to New Payment System

As MAGS transitions to a new payment system, we advise parents that the Kamar Portal can no longer be used for payments, and any payments that need to be made in the interim should be done by direct credit or in person at the Finance Office.
Direct credit details are on our website here
We envisage that the new system should be running within the next 10 days, with more communication to come about 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.

National Champion Chess Team

The MAGS Chess Team is the online Chess Team National Champions for 2024.
This tournament is for the top teams in New Zealand, as entry to the event is by winning a regional tournament or an online event.
The team consisted of: Victor Coen, Jacob Miller, Matthew Clement, Bui Nguyen, Janice Shi and Felix McElwee.
Each player played nine games, and scores for the four top players counted to the team score.
Jacob Miller came third. Even though the top three players had the same score (eight wins), Jacob’s result was worked out mathematically looking at who he played and lost to. As a result, Jacob was awarded the title of Junior Master.
Matthew Clement gained the highest upset badge when he beat one of the top players.
TIC Mr Frank said, "Going into the last round, MAGS had a narrow lead of half a point, with both Hillcrest High School and Hamilton Boys within striking distance. MAGS needed at least three points to clearly win.
"Jacob Miller and Victor Coen won their games, so it was down to Matthew Clement, with a rating of 1062, up against a player rated 1419 from Hillcrest High School.
"He managed to win, and helped us to our first Chess Championship title."

Powerful Māori and Pasifika Performance

Last Friday, the Māori and Pasifika Group performed an original show,Teine Sā.
This devised performance was written and directed by members of the group, led by Epeli Prescott.
The 40-minute play was a comedic and creative piece inspired by the original Samoan story. 
The group was only established this year and they have already made their mark. 
HOD Drama Miss Hughes said, "They worked together as such a beautiful cohesive theatre group, and we hope to show this play to many more students in the New Year to encourage all Māori and Pasifika students with an interest in telling their stories through Drama performance."
Director of Arts Co-curricular Ms Cesan said, "This was a stellar performance by a committed and talented cast and deserves to be seen again. There was a wonderful camaraderie and sense of family among the cast and crew that made this a really cohesive and moving production."

Fire Alarm Disrupts Year 8 Testing

This morning we experienced a fire alarm, resulting in an evacuation of buildings and the arrival of two fire appliances.  
We are pleased to advise that there was no fire emergency but that this was as a result of a sensor being triggered by a contractor carrying out work at MAGS.  
Our MAGS students responded well to the alarm and evacuated calmly as directed while awaiting the arrival of the Fire Service.  
Once firemen had given the all-clear, students went on to their classes, and the visiting Year 8s returned to the F.W. Gamble Hall to complete their testing, each now having a great first day at MAGS story.

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.

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]