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12 April 2024  |
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to the final newsletter for term one. With our final 2023 NCEA results confirmed, we can again claim to be the city's top-performing public school. In particular, last year’s Year 13 cohort performed exceptionally well, with over 60% of students achieving University Entrance. |
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We continue to sustain our legacy of high achievement and constantly strive to improve our academic outcomes. Having the backing of our families makes the job much easier, and we are always keen to develop and sustain the partnership we share in growing great young people. Thank you for your support in helping your children be their best. It has been a busy final few weeks here at school with Lip-sync and Cambridge High School sports exchange which all happened this past week. Well done to all Mount Maunganui College students who represented the school with pride and grit during Summer Tournament week. It was the largest contingent of athletes, and they achieved some remarkable results. I had the pleasure of sitting on the sideline at many performances that made me proud. Watching uncompromising competitiveness throughout games, matched with humility and fair play, certainly makes the effort and support from volunteers all worthwhile. A full breakdown of results is available in the Sports Newsletter below. A huge congratulations to our students and staff for another stellar set of results in the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare regionals, with Mount Maunganui College winning the 15-minute and 5-minute performances. These groups have now qualified to perform in Wellington at the magnificent St James Theatre over King’s Birthday Weekend. This will be the fifth consecutive year Mount Maunganui College has made it to the national finals. Safe travels to our staff and students heading overseas during the break. We have a large group heading to Southeast Asia, and the 1st XV is heading toward some tough matchups in Fiji. Term break is an excellent opportunity for students and families to assess the school year's progress. As always, I encourage you to contact us with any concerns regarding your child’s progress. It is always preferable to address concerns early. A list of key contacts can be found here. See you all in term two. Ngā mihi, |
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______________________________________________________________ INTRODUCING OUR STUDENT LEADERS |
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Executive LeadersKia Ora! Our names are Mackenzie Crawford and Lockie Williams and we are stoked to be your Executive Leaders for 2024. This year we are in charge of running the Year 13 Ball and Graduation. Despite both of these events being for only year 13s, our goal is to get as many people as possible involved, especially those from other year groups. After almost five years at MMC, we can both confidently say that we are so grateful for the opportunities that the school has provided us, not just academically but also with sports and extra curricular. Looking back, our biggest regrets would be that we didn’t get involved enough in extra curricular and school events. We encourage you to not make the same mistake we did - grasp any and every opportunity. Get involved! We cannot wait to see you all get stuck in and make the most of your college experience! ______________________________________________________________ |
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Kaupapa Māori LeadersWe extend a warm Kia Ora! Introducing ourselves as Kauri Barbarich and Ikaika Bidois-Russell, we are honoured to serve as your Kaupapa Māori leaders for the year 2024 at Mount Maunganui College. Our enthusiasm knows no bounds as we embark on organising various events such as the Haka Competition, Te po whakamanawa, and many other significant Māori events we know would be right for our school. Our focus this year, as Kaupapa Māori leaders, is to foster widespread student participation in Māori cultural and academic activities. We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to represent our school as student leaders, we acknowledge the invaluable experiences that have shaped us through a Māori perspective during our time at Mount Maunganui College. We extend an open invitation to all students to join us in making a meaningful impact and leaving a lasting legacy on the Māori landscape of our school. We urge everyone to seize every opportunity and actively engage. We eagerly anticipate seeing everyone's involvement. Whaia te iti kahurangi ki te tuohu koe me he maunga teitei. Pursue the treasures that are most precious to you, and stand tall like a mountain. |
______________________________________________________________ DEBATINGMount Maunganui College students had a hugely successful day at the annual NZ Schools' Debating Council's regional championships on Sunday 17 March. Five Mount Maunganui College teams entered. A huge congratulations to Jenna Adlington, Luca Ririnui and Sarah Adlam who won a tough debate against Tauranga Boys' College in the Grand Final, retaining the championship and the Josh Baxter Cup for another year. Luca was awarded Best Speaker and was selected to represent the Bay of Plenty at the national tournament in May, while Jenna was selected as a reserve. Mani Catanach and Nathan Appleton received Promising Speaker awards, and Mani was selected to join the BOP Development Squad. A phenomenal effort from our debaters! |
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______________________________________________________________ METEOR NEWSMount Maunganui College is part of a global meteor camera network (Fireballs Aotearoa, https://fireballs.nz/). At school, we received a camera from Dr. James Scott at Otago university, which records the night sky every night, before uploading the data to the network. Mount Maunganui College has the camera number NZ001H, click here. On 13 March, a fireball was detected in the South Island, and through collating data from various cameras which spotted the fireball. A likely landed position was posted, and the meteorite hunters went to work. The data was so good, the meteorite was found within 30 minutes of the search starting. The full article can be found here. |
______________________________________________________________ CARBON FOOTPRINTWe are excited to share that Mount Maunganui College has been selected to participate in a Transport Pilot organised by the Ministry of Education in partnership with SportNZ and DecarbonEd. The programme will empower our students with the tools they need to envision and create a low-carbon future. Transport is the beginning of this journey. We will utilise our unique carbon footprint and data collected through the pilot to understand how our staff and students travel to and from school and to consider what transport options we want for the future of our community. Along with our carbon footprint, the pilot programme will provide data tools to model potential changes, curriculum resources, and a Carbon-Neutral School Lead. Congratulations to Jim Critchley on taking on this new role. He will act as the conduit between Maunganui College and the pilot, ensuring we get the most from this valuable opportunity. Should you wish to know more about this programme, please visit the Emission Reductions in Schools & Kura page, and should you have any queries, please contact Emissions.Reduction@education.govt.nz |
______________________________________________________________ UNIFORMThis a reminder to all families to make sure their child’s uniform meets our guidelines. We are noticing an increase in students wearing non-polishable shoes, incorrect socks and hoodies. Students can wear a non-regulation waterproof jacket to and from school on wet days. 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. |
______________________________________________________________ STUDENT ID PHOTOSAs ID cards are not required for school, students will not receive one this year unless they order it through the Photolife website. Information on how to order will be sent out from Photolife and cards will be sent directly to them. Parent Queries – Please contact Photolife on: enquiries@photolife.co.nz |
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SPORTS NEWSLETTER Dan Meade Off-field Sports Uniforms |
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If you have any questions please contact me on danm@mmc.school.nz. Social Media Facebook: Mount Maunganui College Sport ______________________________________________________________ |
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MMC Jazz Combo wins Bronze! A big congrats to our new Jazz Combo group "Jazz Comb" for taking the bronze award at the National Youth Jazz Competition at Baycourt. Jazz Comb features Artur Bykov on guitar, Leila Taylor on bass, Tyler Ormsby on drums and Flynn Augustine on piano. You can watch their performance here |
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______________________________________________________________ MOUNT ART GROUPThe Mount Art Group is holding an exhibition in the Mount Maunganui College Hall. Students' artwork will be for sale. 13-14 April 2024 - 9am to 5pm
Artwork below by: Sapphira White (Year 13) |
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______________________________________________________________ KEY DATES2024 Term Dates (click to view) April 2024 |