 |
Kia ora tātou e te whānau, Welcome to the final newsletter for the term. Congratulations to all students who picked up awards at our Pō Whakamanawa Awards on Tuesday night. These awards are for students who have excelled in Te Ao Māori, Sports, Arts, Culture, Academic and in Community Contribution. It is great to see so many of our Māori students representing their whānau, hapū and iwi through the school and wider community. Watching our Kapa Haka, Te Toka a Tirikawa, perform in the flesh for the first time on our own stage was awe-inspiring. Thanks to our incredibly dedicated staff for making 2023 such a success.  |
 |
We are looking forward to the rest of prizegiving season kicking off next term. These awards evening celebrate not only our top achieving Sport, Arts and Acadmic students but also those students who have contributed to the strength of these areas of our school and wider community. Special thanks to our Community Leaders Tay Ririnui and Chloe Wong for another successful Headshave fundraiser. This year over $6100 was raised for Shave for a Cure. Well done to all staff and students who were involved with this event. |
 |
Other community focussed events have included a canned food drive for the Arataki Community Centre coordinated by our Ms McFarlane and her Year 12 Social Studies students. Students Jazmin Mitchell, Tay Ririnui, Amber Peck and Sarah Adlam have been behind establishing Purple Ribbon Day here at the college in support of domestic violence awareness. It is great to have so many community minded staff and students here at Mount Maunganui College. Spirit Week 2023 was a perfect opportunity for our Year 13’s to bond and have some fun. Each day had a theme and it was encouraging to see the week build with more and more students and staff getting involved. There were many notable outfits throughout the week but it will be hard to top Ms Yule dressed as Queen Elizabeth with her real life corgi. |
 |
This school break provides a great opportunity for students to take stock of their academic journey. We strongly encourage families to support their children with their goal setting and if there are any concerns raise them with the school. The first contact should be primarily with the classroom teacher but Heads of Department, Deans and Senior Leaders are always willing to point families in the right direction and support students where possible. Lastly, we have included some road safety and NCEA messages for families below, please take the time to read these carefully. Ngā mihi nui, Alastair Sinton |
 |
______________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER CONTENTS:
|
______________________________________________________________ |
 |
Dan Meade Off-field Sports Uniforms
What’s coming up? BOPSS Ski and Snowboarding Champs |
 |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Social Media The Sports Department has updated their Social Media pages. Please follow us on.
|
______________________________________________________________ NCEA CHANGES 2024 AND 2025You may know that NCEA is changing. As a student, the main thing you might notice is a stronger focus on Literacy and Numeracy. You might also notice changes in how you are assessed, with more assessments being done online or submitted to NZQA through their website. What you need for NCEA in 2024 and 2025 For NCEA in 2024 and 2025, you will need:
You only need to meet the literacy and numeracy requirements once, and you do not need to attempt them again for other levels of NCEA. If you haven't quite finished your NCEA at the end of the year you can still start working towards the next level. What else is changing
What is staying the same
|
______________________________________________________________ DUNE CAREOver the last two Wednesdays, we have been working with Coast Care to help with planting in our local dunes. There were 500 plants planted into the crossroads area and look forward to watching their progress over the coming years. |
 |
______________________________________________________________ SYSTEMS THINKINGBECA hosted a Systems Thinking event at the EnviroHub for Climate Action week for Mount Maunganui College students. The kaupapa of the day was Fast Fashion, and looking at the complexities of the supply chain to manufacture and sell a T-shirt. Students were tasked with using a Systems Thinking approach to understand the whole system, rather than focus on one aspect like marketing or shipping. |
 |
______________________________________________________________ CONGRATULATIONSMount Maunganui College ex-student, Jazzy Axton, now Jazzy Phoenix, has landed an acting role in Eastenders. Jazzy moved to London to pursue a career in acting. Jazzy was our Performing Arts Student of the Year after a stunning performance at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Nationals, playing ‘Ophelia’ in Hamlet and won the Most Outstanding Performer Award. Jazzy also made it to Judges Mansions on X Factor NZ as the youngest ever singer to make it so far in the show’s history. Congratulations Jazzy from Mount Maunganui College to the world stage. |
 |
______________________________________________________________ HEARING SCREENINGOn behalf of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, thank you for taking part in our 2023 Hearing Screening and Make Listening Safe Programme. This is such an important initiative to help young Kiwi kids with their hearing health as well as educate them on unsafe listening habits which unfortunately, in this modern world are leading to increasingly high levels of youth hearing loss globally. Mount Maunganui College Hearing Screening results indicated that 3% of the students screened had abnormal hearing results. Some of these students are now being referred for a full hearing assessment. In addition, 26% of students advised they are experiencing ringing in the ears, otherwise known as Tinnitus. In the majority of cases, Tinnitus leads to hearing loss and hearing health issues in the future, this is a worrying trend we are seeing across New Zealand. Ringing in the ears is being experienced by even those students who are returning a normal hearing screening result, which could mean if they continue with unsafe listening habits, hearing loss could be a real issue in the future. Unsafe listening habits mean listening to personal devices such as smartphones at higher volumes than recommended and for long periods. At Mount Maunganui College, 37% of students are listening at unsafe levels, highlighting the importance of educating students and their parents on how young people can enjoy listening to music and recreational noise but safely to protect their hearing. Once your hearing is gone you cannot get it back. The Make Listening Safe Education initiative is an important part of the Hearing Screening programme and aims to educate students and their parents on safe listening practices. Available on our website are resources that parents and young people can read through to protect their hearing, https://www.nfd.org.nz/school-programmes. |
______________________________________________________________ ROAD SAFETY REMINDERSWith the changes to Maunganui Road we would like to draw your attention to our driveway access points. With the addition of the cycle lane, we ask all families to take extra care when entering and exiting our school. Cyclists can move very quickly along that path and we need everyone to share that space with caution. We have also noticed an increase in families dropping students on the opposite side of Maunganui Road. While the improvements have made this a safer option than in the past, there is still a lot of heavy traffic moving along the road. Please consider safe drop off points for students (it doesn’t hurt them to walk a few blocks!). ______________________________________________________________ |
 |
______________________________________________________________ |
 |
______________________________________________________________ CHARITY EVENTKura Kai is a local charity that Mount Maunganui College are partnered with, and their annual charity night is back and locked in! There will be amazing auction items, raffles, DJ entertainment and nibbles provided so grab your friends and book your tickets today! Your support will help raise funds so we can continue to support our rangatahi and whānau. For event tickets and more information, click here |
 |
______________________________________________________________ UNIFORMThis a reminder to all families to make sure their child’s uniform meets our guidelines, for next term. We are continuing to see students with non-polishable shoes and incorrect socks. Please ensure your child is also adhering to our jewellery standards. No septums or rings are permitted on the face. Our discipline and defiance procedures will deal with ongoing uniform issues if not resolved promptly. |
______________________________________________________________ MAIN ENTRANCEWe respectfully request parents not to use the staff car park for student pick-up after school. The main entrance gates will be locked before the end of the day. |
______________________________________________________________ KEY DATES
2024 Term Dates (click to view)
|