  |
 Tēnā koutou, e te whānau o Mount Albert Grammar School.
As a large and diverse school community, regular assemblies form a critical part of daily life here at MAGS.
Many venues are utilised across the school for gathering various groups of students together – but none is more special than when we assemble in the F.W. Gamble Hall.
This iconic venue – carrying the name of our Foundation Headmaster – speaks loudly to every student who enters the space. The honours boards – listing names of Albertians from yesteryear – also trace the evolution of our school over the past 104 years. They evidence the ‘tradition and change’ that is so much the MAGS story.
The emergence of Pasifika names in gold from the 1970s onwards reflects a changing MAGS and a changing Auckland of the time.
And from the early 2000s, the names of our young MAGS women sit proudly alongside their male counterparts.
It is difficult not to become lost in the golden names that surround you in our Hall – and I’m sure, at times, they provide students with a welcomed distraction from the messaging at the podium!
But it is the realisation that as MAGS students they are part of something bigger than themselves – that is the true value of our Hall.
And hopefully our current students take up the challenge of writing the history of today – and maybe making themselves part of this golden story in the future!
Have a good weekend.
Patrick Drumm
Headmaster
|
| |
Click here for the Calendar
Wednesday, March 19
Non-uniform day in support of Relay for LIfe
Monday, March 24
Summer Tournament Week Starts
Wednesday, April 2 to
Saturday, April 5
Polyfest, Manukau Sports Bowl
Saturday, April 5
Relay for Life, AUT Millennium, 10am to 10pm
Thursday, April 10
Last day of classes for Term 1
Friday, April 11
Teacher Only Day
AKSS Boys Lacrosse League
Click here
Trials and Registrations
Click here
Fixtures and Results
Click here
|
|
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.
| |  |
Rugby Stars Return to MAGS
|
 It was a pleasure to welcome back Albertians Sylvia Brunt and Caleb Clarke, two of our most successful rugby players, who were at assembly on Wednesday to present the school with signed Blues rugby jerseys from their championship-winning seasons last year.
Sylvia and Caleb have both represented the Blues and New Zealand during their rugby careers and were star players while at MAGS.
Both players spoke of how their time at MAGS had furthered their personal and sporting development, and had given them lifelong values.
Members of our Rugby Academy, pictured below, performed a haka for the pair after they spoke.
 |
No Tuckshop From Next Monday Until Further Notice |
As you may be aware through media reports, Libelle (our Tuckshop operators) have ceased trading effective immediately.
Please be aware that the school is unable to provide tuckshop services for students from Monday until further notice. We are actively seeking alternative tuckshop providers and will communicate to families and students once this service resumes.
Thank you for your understanding with this unexpected period of transition.
|
Junior Year Level Representatives
|
Our Junior Year Level Representatives for 2025 were announced and recognised at assemblies this week.
Year 9 and Year 10 representatives are pictured above left and right respectively with Deputy Principals Miss Hayes and Mr Powell.
The Year 9 representatives are, from left, Iva Bernard, Tulsi Bayliss, Leo Cairncross and Aidan Ranchhod. The Year 10s are Te Awanuiarangi Mackwood, Soren Bell, Natalija Cowley and Gasologa Auia.
|
Year 9s' Interform Challenges
|
Our Year 9s got stuck into the annual Interform Competition on Wednesday with an afternoon of activities and challenges.
The year-long competition is a fun series of challenges, with classes gaining points depending on their placings in each event. Extra points are earned for participation, support, fair play and teamwork.
 |
After years of showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of artists from around New Zealand, the MAGS Art Show will be taking a break in 2025 from its current format.
This year marks a special milestone as MAGS celebrates 25 years of empowering and inspiring girls in the school community, and to commemorate this achievement, the Arts Faculty is presenting a student-led exhibition to highlight the creativity and contributions of MAGS students.
The 2025 hiatus will allow for a fresh perspective, and an opportunity to re-group for 2026.
We would like to thank all of our previous exhibiting artists, our amazing team of volunteers, our sponsors, our MAGS community and the wider community for all the support you have shown us over the years.
Please keep an eye on our website for information regarding the 2026 show. We look forward to seeing you next year!
|
Best Wishes to George Clark
|
Photo courtesy of SunMedia/NZME
|
 Our oldest living old boy is believed to be George Clark, who celebrated his 103rd birthday on Saturday, March 8.
George was born in 1922, only a few weeks after our first students arrived and some time before the official opening of the school on May 25.
He attended the school from 1936 to 1938, and followed the newly instituted Agriculture course. Coming from a farm in the Waikato, he entered School House, where the Head Housemaster in 1936 was Murray Nairn, later to be the school’s third Headmaster.
Murray Nairn’s successor as Housemaster was J.G. Brown, who was to remain in the position until 1959.
The School sends its congratulations and very best wishes to George, who is, according to his daughter and former Prime Minister Helen Clark, a very proud MAGS man. They are pictured above.
There are not a large number of photos from the 1930s but George is certainly somewhere in the 1936 photo of the hostel. He would also have slept in a dormitory, as pictured above, and been involved in the upkeep of the property, as pictured below.
In 2027, the hostel will mark its 100th anniversary.
– Greg Cave, Archivist  |
Athletes Excel at NZ Champs
|
Our 4x400m gold medallists Nina Chalmers and Peggy Taylor are pictured above at left and right respectively. Our 4x100m gold medallists Kendra Scally-Tu’i and Maddie Early are pictured below at left and right respectively.
 A number of talented track and field athletes from MAGS represented Auckland at the NZ Track & Field Championships held in Dunedin from March 6-9.
Selection to the Auckland team is based on performance standards, which are the toughest across all regions in New Zealand.
Director of Sports Mrs Revell said, "There were a number of outstanding performances from our MAGS students, including the double sprint gold for Kendra Scally-Tu’i, and an outstanding win for Nina Chalmers in the 1500m. Other notable mentions include Maddie Earley, with her placings in the sprints, the first time in the U18 grade; Peggy Taylor securing the bronze for the 400m; and Ty Gonzales also with a bronze for the sprint hurdles.
For the Auckland relays, Maddie Early and Kendra Scally-Tu’I represented half of the gold winning U18 Women's 4x100m team. Nina Chalmers and Peggy Taylor also represented half of the gold winning U18 Women's 4x400m Auckland relay team.
Top Results:
Kendra Scally-Tu’i U18 Women
100m – Gold
200m – Gold
100m – Silver (U20)
4x100m Relay – Gold
Nina Chalmers U18 Women
1500m – Gold
800m – 5th
4x400m Relay – Gold
Maddie Earley U18 Women
100m – Bronze
200m – Silver
Triple Jump – 4th
Long Jump – 5th
4x100m Relay – Gold
| | Peggy Taylor U18 Women
400m – Bronze
4x400m Relay – Gold
Ty Gonzales U18 Men
110m Hurdles – Bronze
300m Hurdles – 4th
Benjie Fairclough U18 Men
400m – 4th
Javelin – 6th
|
There were also a number of fantastic performances from recent alumni:
Hannah Ayde – Bronze Open Women's Pole Vault (placing 3rd to Eliza McCartney)
Troy Middleton – 4th Open Men's 100m – 10.59s |
Orienteers Off to Flying Start
|
 The MAGS orienteering team have made a great start to the Western Zone sprint series.
With three events completed and two still to go, MAGS dominates the top positions in almost all of the age categories.
TIC Mrs McKinlay-Milne said, "It has been wonderful to see a huge number of enthusiastic Year 9s getting involved in orienteering and improving their skills and navigation each week. The series continues at Avondale College next week."
Top positions from the combined 3 events:
Senior Boys: 1st William Wood,
Senior Girls: 1st Anna Batcheler,
Intermediate Boys: 1st Tahi Harris
Intermediate Girls: 1st Zara Bint
Junior Boys: 2nd Quinn Harris
|
|
|
