Power and Passion of Haka

The sounds of haka rang out around the school today as Juniors practised and performed MAGS haka Takatū as part of their Interform competition, culminating in all Year 9 and 10 classrooms coming together for a Junior School haka on the main field.
The previous two days our Juniors have been practising Takatū' under the guidance of Te Puna o Wairaka's Whaea Waimirirangi Paul, Matua Peter Walters and Whaea Te Ao Frandi.
Throughout today our Juniors showed their pride in and passion for Takatū as their Mentor Classes vied for points in the gym for their Interform Competition.
The winning Year 9 girls and boys class combination was 09UFT-09BON, while the Year 10 competition was taken out by 10HUS-10MIS. The best Year 9 female leader was Kadyn Elliott and best male was Solomon Tomokino. The best Year 10 female leader was Lulu Wrightson-Lyons and best male was Arden Skelton-Fa'alogo.

After lunch, the Year 9s and 10s assembled on the field for a haka-off, running through the haka twice each before Year 9s were judged the winners by acclamation from staff.
The two year groups then joined to haka staff and especially Mr Sail, who is retiring after 23 years of service to MAGS as a teacher and Director of Cricket, 
You can see a video of the Junior School Haka here


And there are more activities coming up for our Juniors next week:
 
Wednesday, 27 November    Year 9 Interform Competition
Thursday, 28 November       Year 10 Interform Competition
The winning classes for each of these finals days will receive a class ‘pizza lunch’ in recognition of their teamwork and success.
                                   
Friday, 29 November     2024 Interform Competition Winners Movie Trip – St Lukes
The Year 9 Girls, Year 9 Boys,Year 10 Girls and Year 10 Boys classes that have achieved the highest points across numerous competitions across the year are treated to a movie trip.
Winners are notified on Wednesday the 27th and/or Thursday the 28th after the final competition.
 
Tuesday, 3 December       Year 10 Prizegiving – 9.30am (TBC)
                                             Year 9 Prizegiving – 12.30pm (TBC)
Year 9 and 10 students are dismissed for the academic year after their respective prizegiving.
 
Note: Further letters regarding the prizegivings will be sent to parents of prizewinners when the relevant information, that identifies the many who are to be acknowledged, has been collated and analysed.

Sign Up for New Payment System

As previously advised in the newsletter, MAGS has closed Kamar direct payments via the ‘Finance’ tab on the Kamar Portal and is now partnering with Kindo to streamline payments.
Kindo will now be used for donations, fees, sports, school trips, ball tickets etc.– with several payment methods available, including free ones. 
MAGS is no longer taking payments directly into our school bank account. If you have an automatic payment already set up to our bank account, please cancel this as soon as possible and create an automatic payment to go directly into your Kindo Wallet. 
For more instructions on automatic payments, please click here
Any outstanding credit on your MAGS account will be added to your Kindo Wallet once a Kindo account has been created.
Please see this link for a copy of the document above to help you to sign up to Kindo, whether it is on your computer or using the app on your phone. There is also a Kindo tab on the MAGS website's Parent Portal that can be used to access or set up an account.
You can also click here to set up a Kindo account for MAGS payments.

Please note: Parents who have payments outstanding on their MAGS account will also soon receive a payment request from 'The Growth Collective' – so make sure to check the spam/junk folder on the email account that you use to receive MAGS communications. And make The Growth Collective a trusted sender or add to your contacts.

Parents who have a Kindo account already through another school can use that for MAGS payments using the instructions here

Need assistance? The Kindo Helpdesk is open 8am to 4pm weekdays.
Freephone: 0508 4 KINDO (0508 454 636)
Email: [email protected]
Online Tutorials: support.mykindo.co.nz

Sports Registrations on Kindo

The school has moved to Kindo and as such all sports registrations are now through this platform.
All information is on the registration page here in the Kindo shop with the terms and conditions for accepting registrations.
Please take special note of registration deadlines, as many of our Term 1 2025 sports will have a deadline that is very early into the start of the school year. 
We look forward to streamlining our sports registration process and involving as many of our MAGS students in sports as possible.

Time to Plan Holiday Reading

Students are being encouraged to take out at least three books for holiday reading to avoid the “summer slide”. 
The due date for books issued for the last two weeks of term will be the first day back – Friday, 31 January.
If they don’t read for pleasure over the holidays, research shows that students will spend most of Term 1 getting back to their current reading levels.
Students also have access to great reading online. They can use the MAGS e-book library here, signing in with their school email and password.
If not already using Auckland Libraries, they can join online for free for the online eCollections here
This page also gives guidance on how to obtain a library card to borrow printed books and magazines from Auckland Libraries.

High Achievers in 1946

This photograph shows the Form Master H.L. Towers, at left, with his 6A class in 1946, and the new Headmaster William Caradus, who was from the earliest time Head of Science (the Science Building is named for him).
There were 13 boys in the class but one was absent for the photo – D. J. B. Protheroe,
From the class list, pictured right, it can be seen that Fairgray, Otway, Philips and Ward were prefects.
At least four of them became medical doctors: Ross Moore, Whitley Otway, Dick Lawrence and Ross Fairgray.
From the writing on the back of the photo, pictured below, it is clear that ‘Me’ is B.M. Brown, who donated this photo to MAGS.
This photo is part of Set 97, recently added to the MAGS website's Historical Images page here

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]

Sports Update

Girls Finish Second at Junior Sevens

Last Friday, our Boys and Girls Junior Sevens teams competed at the Blues Region Year 9 and 10 tournament, held at Pulman Park. 
Teams from North Harbour, Auckland, Counties Manukau and two invitational teams from Australia competed. This was a good hit out before the Condor Sevens.
The tournament was played in atrocious conditions with heavy rain falling consistently throughout the day. The wet conditions provided challenges, with teams not being able to play an open style of sevens. 

The Girls team bounced back to make the final after a narrow loss – 17-15 to Auckland Girls Grammar School (AGGS) in their first game of the day. 
They had a convincing win against St Mary’s College 29-0 and a tough 10-0 win against one of the Australian teams, The Sportslink Travel Joeys. 
The final saw a repeat of the opening pool game against AGGS, who proved to be too be strong, controlling the game to win 20-0.
The Boys team started the day well with a 29-10 win over One Tree Hill College. Their second game, against Sacred Heart College, proved to be a physical encounter, with Sacred Heart edging the Boys out 15-7. 
A comfortable 34-0 win over Botany Downs Secondary College set up a must-win game against De La Salle to advance to the semi-finals. In a tight battle, De La Salle College got out to an early lead the Boys were not able to claw back, going down 15-7.
Assistant Director of Sport Carlin Crossan said, " A big thanks to all the players, coaches and managers of both teams who were involved in the day and battled the tough conditions."