  |
 Tēnā koutou, e te whānau o Mount Albert Grammar School.
Early this morning, members of our MAGS community gathered for the blessing of two significant new buildings in the school.
Te Puna Wānanga and the Murray Nairn Building will provide 22 additional teaching spaces for our students. Our new whare wānanga will be the home to the teaching of Te Reo Māori while the Murray Nairn Building will house our new Library and student study centre along with 16 Social Science classes on the first and second floors.
'Tradition and Change' are both highly valued at MAGS.
In carrying the name of the third Headmaster of MAGS, the Murray Nairn Building is offering a nod to the past and the foundations on which the school has been built.
But sitting proud at the front of this building is our new whare – an acknowledgement to the MAGS of today – a diverse yet inclusive community.
These two separate spaces provide a powerful bicultural symbol for our community. Two buildings joined together, both working towards the same goal of realising the aspirations of our young people.
From an initial vision to a concrete reality – thanks to all who have supported the journey over the past three years. The Board of Trustees, MAGS Runanga, Ministry of Education, ASC Architects, Southbase Construction – so many people working to provide an unparalleled learning environment for our school.
What a wonderful asset for MAGS!
All that remains now is for our students to add life to these buildings.
Have a good weekend.
Patrick Drumm
Headmaster
|
| |
Click here for the Calendar
Monday, May 6
Lumino Dental arrives at MAGS
Wednesday, May 8
Year 8 Information Evening, F.W. Gamble Hall, 7pm
Tuesday, May 14
Year 8 Information Evening, F.W. Gamble Hall, 7pm
Friday, May 17
Pink Shirt Day
Photo Essays
 Football Girls 1st XI v
Ranigtoto College
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.
| |  |
 |
 This morning saw MAGS achieve a massive milestone with a dawn blessing of the Nairn Building and associated Te Puna Wānanga.
Matua Hare Paniora and Hohepa Renata conducted the blessing with the support of Te Puna o Wairaka staff and students.
Staff, students and guests were led through the three-storey building as the tapu was lifted.
The Nairn Building, named after MAGS' third Headmaster Murray Nairn (1954-1969), will be the new home of the Social Sciences Department as well as housing a revamped Library and being a base for Te Puna o Wairaka.
It will not only provide MAGS with state-of-the-art teaching facilities but also mean some prefab classrooms can be removed to claw back space for sports fields.
Mr Drumm, in his speech, paid tribute to the work of ASC Architects and project managers Southbase Construction as well as Damien Strogen, of the Ministry of Education, who have supported the project all the way.
There will be a gradual transition of students into the new classrooms, and the Library is expected to be fully up and running soon.
You can see more photos from the event here  |
Students Prominent at Anzac Services |
  A delegation of Mount Albert Grammar School prefects attended the ANZAC service held by the Albert-Eden Local Board on Thursday, 25 April, marking 109 years since the Gallipoli landings.
Head Prefect Toby Forster, who spoke at the service as pictured left, said, "ANZAC day is an important opportunity for us to commemorate fallen soldiers, as well as thank current and former servicemen and women. Past conflicts – from Gallipoli to Afghanistan – have left a significant legacy at our school, with over 200 Albertians having served and lost their lives overseas.
"The presence of our prefects on ANZAC day continues a long tradition of preserving their memories. On behalf of our Prefect Team, I would like to thank the organisers of the event and community members for allowing us to participate in such a meaningful gathering. We are honoured to have been afforded the opportunity to pay our respects as a school while giving back to our community. Lest we forget."
Our Centennial Choir was also honoured to be a part of the remembrance at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Head Chorister Henri Le Cren said," It was a very emotional space performing in the World War One Memorial Hall [pictured below], seeing all the thousands of names surrounding us. We had lots of positive comments from Albertians, parents, students and viewers. We all came away really happy with how we sang."
 |
|
|
 Four teams of MAGS students headed north for the FMG Junior Young Farmer competition last month.
A huge effort and smiles by all involved, but a massive congratulations to Hanna Smith and Sophie Chandler, pictured left, for taking out first place and securing a spot at the Nationals to be held in July in Hamilton. |
More Homestay Families Needed |
 We are currently looking for kind and caring families to accommodate our international students.
This is a great opportunity to learn about a different culture and build lasting friendships.
We are looking for one-week stays who are able to accommodate two Japanese students in their homes from 27/7/24 to 4/8/24.
Commencing Term 3 (22/7/24), we also need one-term and two-term stays to care for a fantastic group of European students.
Finally, we need long-term homestay families for our Japanese and Chinese students.
Homestays are our most popular style of accommodation as our students benefit from living with an English-speaking family and sharing in the NZ family experience.
What are the expectations of a host family?
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
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] |
 Registration for The Leaders of Tomorrow youth civic engagement forum is now open.
The forum, on Monday, May 13, will show students how they can have their voice heard in the local community and how they can develop skills as a leader.
Mount Albert MP Helen White will be guest speaker and talk about her journey as a leader and answer any questions.
The event is in the W.O.H. Gibbs Room from 2.15pm with light refreshments provided.
Students who are looking to be future leaders at MAGS next year or want to learn how to engage in the community, should register here by 12pm next Thursday (May 9).
If you have any questions, contact Ryan Antia – [email protected] – or Nishka Arora –[email protected]. |
 The school is sad to announce the recent death of David Buckle. who was a student at MAGS from 1952 to 1955.
He was heavily involved in a wide range of activities at the school. When he left school, he began training as a pharmacist – then a four-year apprenticeship – 40 hours of work plus night school and correspondence courses.
He owned a pharmacy in Richardson Road for many years and was heavily involved in the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand.
He was the society’s President from 1983 to 1986 and the Society’s Chief Executive and Registrar from 1989 to 1994 where he drove changes to pharmacist education at Otago University and during the post-graduate intern year.
From 1994 to 2004 he was Manager, Medicines Control at the Ministry of Health.
In recognition of his services David received the prestigious Whitechapel Mortar and Pestle in 1994, and in 1995 he was a Pharmaceutical Society Gold Medal recipient. We send our sincere condolences to David’s family. |
Lumino Dental Back Next Week |
 The Lumino the Dentists Mobile Unit is scheduled to come to MAGS next week and will be here until Thursday, June 27.
This is a service hosted by MAGS but entirely run by Lumino Dental, so all enquiries about enrolments, bookings and procedures should be made to Practice Manager Tracey Kirkland, ph 027 700 9972.
The Lumino the Dentists School Smiles Programme is fully funded by the Ministry of Health.
It offers free dental examinations, oral health education, x-rays and a professional dental clean for students in Year 9 to Year 13, up until their 18th birthday.
Treatments including white fillings, sealants and extractions of baby teeth are also provided on the school grounds as required. For other treatment not completed on board the unit, students will be referred to their local practice or orthodontic specialist.
You can enrol your children here and read some FAQs here |
Sprinter Bags Silver at Aussie Champs |
During the first week of the school holidays, a team of 21 NZSS U18 Track and Field athletes headed to Adelaide to compete in the Australian Athletics Championships.
The team was selected based on their performances at the NZSS Athletics Championships in Christchurch in December 2023.
Amongst the team was MAGS student Kendra Scally-Tu’i, representing NZ in the Women's U17 100m and 200m. Kendra claimed the silver medal for her 200m with a time of 24.82s – an astounding result for the young sprinter.
In the 100m, Kendra successfully navigated the heats, qualifying for the finals later in the day, and placed 8th overall in Australia for the U17 Women's grade with a time of 12.51s.
|
Athletes and Captains Recognised |
 Our school Cross Country Champions and Sports Captains were recognised at assemblies this week.
Cross Country Champions
Back Row: Nina Chalmers (Senior Girls Champion), Theo Bray (Senior Boys Champion), Hazel Helmore (Intermediate Girls Champion). Front Row: Jy Gonzales (Junior Boys Champion), Claudia Verkleij (Junior Girls Champion), Matias Nunez Guiterrez (Junior Boys Champion).
 2024 Sports Captains
Palepua Afoa – Swimming, Ike Ancell – Water Polo, Isabella Boersen – Rowing, Dorothy Brunt – Rugby, Nina Chalmers – Athletics, Yanine de Boed – Water Polo, Brooke Dougal – Softball, Oscar Duffy – Football, Toby Forster – Tennis, Rosa Fox – Hockey, Tyler Gomes-Luis – Archery, Matthew Greenwood – Orienteering, Reanna Hinds – Underwater Hockey, Max Jarvie – Rowing, Orbyn Lundon – Rugby League, Emily Lyon – Football, Ami McGowan – Orienteering, Felix Naish – Cricket, Elijah Poliko – Volleyball, Khalen Quensell – Swimming, Te Arini Roberts – Basketball, Shubhi Roy – Fencing, Dante Tapula'aia – Basketball, Calum Taylor – Squash, Cohen Taylor – Softball, Emina Tiatia – Volleyball, Sasha Tobin – Netball, Anika Todd – Cricket, Lata Togia – Rugby, Ceanna Toogood – Lacrosse, Oscar Vink – Hockey, Chelsea Wijntjes – Tennis, Dylan Yare – Mixed Touch, Lawrence Zhao – Fencing.
|
Water Polo Boys Win Silver |
 MAGS sent a Senior Boys and Senior Girls team to the Secondary School Waterpolo Championships in Hamilton during the school holidays last month.
The Boys competed in Division 2 and won the silver medal.
They won five out of their six games with some amazing goal-scoring.
Sadly, the side is losing six players as they are Year 13s – Blair Foster, Teddy Wilson, Anton Van Aken, Darius Leyland, Ike Ancell and Ethan Tait.
The Girls also payed in Division 2 after a few years of being unable to attend. While the girls didn’t come away with medals, they still achieved something worth celebrating.
As a new team consisting of both juniors and seniors, they played a total of seven games across four days, winning their last three games by working together closely. This sets them up for success in the 2025 season.
A special farewell to much-loved goalie Sylvie Edwards, who is also a Year 13 and finishing up. |
 MAGS Fencers enjoyed a good four days at the NZ Age Group Fencing championships last week.
Seven students competed in six epee events, with Thomas Pham coming away with an impressive medal haul: Silver, U17 Individual; Silver, U17 Auckland A Team; Gold U15 Auckland A Team; Bronze, U15 Individual.
Other medal winners were Shubhi Roy: Silver, U17 Individual; Gold, U17 Auckland A team; Emi Mason: Bronze, U17 Individual; Bronze U17 Auckland B Team; Elijah Yarr: Silver, U17 Auckland A Team; and Nico Meyer: Bronze, U17 Auckland B Team.
|
Orienteering Boys Triumph Again at NISS |
  During the second week of the holidays, 41 MAGS Orienteers competed in the North Island Secondary School Champs.
The competition took place over three days, with events held in North Auckland venues: AUT Campus (Sprint), Mairetahi Forest (Long) and Riverhead Forest (Relay).
Both boys and girls teams gained fantastic results, culminating in the Boys team being crowned Top North Island School and Premier Boys Champions (for the 8th year in a row). And the Girls team gaining third place overall (for the 5th year running).
A massive highlight was the relay event, where all the relay teams performed with impressive skill and athleticism. The boys won all three relay titles (Junior, Intermediate, Senior). The girls gained two thirds, in the Intermediate and Senior.
Highlights included:
Junior grade: Max Roebeck 3rd in Sprint, Ben Spreitzer 3rd in Long.
Intermediate grade: Tahi Harris 2nd in Sprint and 2nd in Long.
Senior Grade: Sam Carryer 1st in Sprint and 2nd in Long, James Milne 3rd in Sprint, Matthew Greenwood 3rd in Long and Anna Batcheler 3rd in Long.
Relay Results:
Junior Boys 1: 1st (Max Roebeck, Cameron Taylor, Ben Spreitzer)
Intermediate Boys 1: 1st (William Wood, Charlie Milne, Tahi Harris)
Senior Boys 1: 1st (Oscar Vink, Matthew Greenwood, Sam Carryer)
Senior Boys 2: 2nd (Alistair Clarke, Felix McElwee, James Milne)
Intermediate Girls: 3rd (Zara Bint, Eloise Whitehead, Isabel Spreitzer)
Seniors Girls 1: 3rd (Charli Spence, Anna Batcheler, Ami McGowan)
|
You can see the web version of the newsletter here
You can unsubscribe here
 |
Copyright © 2024 Mount Albert Grammar School. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
