It has been a fun few weeks of celebration, competition and community.
First, we had our Pō Whakanuia celebration, during which we highlighted our Māori students' success, from their commitment to the marae to representing our school and Māori culture on the international stage. Congratulations to all students who were recognised on the evening, and a special thank you to our students and staff who made the evening a great success.
Last week, our community leaders Sean and Amber organised another successful ‘Head Shave for a Cure’ event, raising over $5,000 for this great cause. The hall was packed with students coming along to support their peers in this event, and I want to acknowledge all the students who had their hair clipped.
The annual Year 13 quiz night, organised by head students Gus and Sophia, was another great night of fun at school last week. Mr Fenneman developed a high-quality quiz that forced teams to dig deep across a broad range of topics. It was tight at the top of the leaderboard, but a full-strength senior leadership team proved too strong and emerged as overall winners on the night.
Finally, today marks the end of full-on winter tournament week. Director of Sport Dan Meade will provide an update in a special sports newsletter next week. Having been out and about catching as many teams as possible this week, I have been impressed with the quality of performance and determination I see from Mount Maunganui College students. A lot of work goes into this week from teachers, parents, coaches, managers and students. Thanks to everyone who goes above and beyond for the benefit of our young people. Thank you also to our sponsors, who, without their support, would have made it incredibly difficult to pull together such an impressive sporting programme.
Next week is practice examination week for senior students. All students will be working on-site all week, and it is vital they attend. As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher, dean or senior leader.
Two submissions from Mount Maunganui College were selected as finalists for the YiA (Young Innovators Awards).
Logan Braithwaite in the Junior division and Amaya Green, Mia Olsen, Skye Shaw and Shiloh Warner in the Senior division.
Congratulations to Amaya, Mia, Skye and Shiloh, their submission - a symtptom tracker app to help diagnose, manage and discover patterns in health conditions - won the 'People's Choice' award and came third in the Senior division.
Rico Nixon, Kate Mitchell and Sienna Lagerberg recently attended the World of Dance Competition in Los Angeles and the Hiphop International in Phoenix.
OutKasts and JV Mega crews were the only New Zealand crews to make the finals of the Hiphop International World Competition. With OutKasts placing 4th in varsity and JV Mega placing 5th in mega.
Pretty impressive for a bunch of teenagers from the Bay, what a fantastic achievement.
Students in Year 11-13 will take part in an exam period in Weeks 8 and 9 of this term (9-16 September). All students must be at school for the full day and have an allocated time to sit Internal or External assessments, complete practical work, or do Derived Grades for Externals. This exam period is not optional, so please refrain from removing your child from school at this time.
For the six days of exams (9-16 September) there will be no raukura time and school will start at 9am for all year levels.
In addition, Literacy and Numeracy exams will take place for Year 10 students and above from 17-19 September. These exams are for students who have not yet attained their Literacy or Numeracy. Again, this is the only window to complete these assessments, so please ensure your child is at school during this time.
9 September
Level 1 Te Ao Haka Assessments (Period 4 and 5)
9 September
Year 11 Line 1 Assessment (9am-11am)
9 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 4 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
10 September
Level 2 Te Ao Haka Assessments (Period 1 and 2)
10 September
Year 11 Line 6 Assessment (9am-11am)
10 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 3 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
11 September
Year 11 Line 5 Assessment (9am-11am)
11 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 2 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
12 September
Year 11 Line 4 Assessment (9am-11am)
12 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 1 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
13 September
Year 11 Line 3 Assessment (9am-11am)
13 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 6 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
16 September
Year 11 Line 2 Assessment (9am-11am)
16 September
Year 12 / 13 Line 5 Assessment (1pm-4pm)
17 September
Study Session - Period 1 and 2 (B2) Literacy Reading Co-requisite Assessments - Hall 11:30am
18 September
Study Session - Period 1 and 2 (B2) Numeracy Co-requisite Assessments - Hall 11:30am
19 September
Study Session - Period 1 and 2 (B2) Literacy Writing Co-requisite Assessments - Hall 11:30am
Jean Drew - Finalist in the 2024 Play It Strange Competition
Congratulations to Year 13 music student Jean Drew for having her original song, Weeping Angels, selected as a finalist in the 2024 Play It Strange National Secondary School Songwriting Competition!
The Play It Strange National Secondary School Songwriting Competition is the flagship event for New Zealand secondary school students in Years 9 to 13, founded by Mike Chunn of Split Enz.
All finalist songs will be professionally recorded in a studio for the annual digital album, and the finalists will also receive a $50 Rockshop voucher and a certificate.
Mount Maunganui College is looking to display our past achievements.
If you are a former student or know of someone who represented New Zealand or earned a national title while attending Mount Maunganui College and would like your name displayed, please complete the Google form.
We are also interested in former students who have represented New Zealand or earned a national title as adults.
While all information is appreciated, we are particularly interested in information from the 1960s to 2000.
All submissions must include any verification possible to ensure the information is correct. Achievements can be in Sports, Arts, Culture or Academia.
Mount Maunganui College is developing a database of former students who are interested in keeping up to date with the college's past, present and future.
Please click the link below to register your interest and/or share with others. Access to the link can also be found on the college website.
Youth Search and Rescue program applications are now open for students aged 14 to 16. The deadline for applications is 30 September.
Youth Search and Rescue is a 3-year program that combines weekly classroom-style learning with weekend adventure-based education in the outdoors to apply the new skills acquired. We train, mentor, and develop our rangatahi to become the next generation of Search and Rescue and Emergency Management volunteers.
Students will gain:
Outdoor education skills, survival, leadership, and team capability and confidence
STEM competencies and NZQA qualifications to complement in-classroom learning
Opportunities for community engagement and contribution, either voluntary or career
Achievement of the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards
Advanced environmental sustainability and flora and fauna awareness
Thanks to all our families who ensure our students head off to school in the correct school uniform. We know you have high expectations of how our students present themselves, so we appreciate your support.
Occasionally, students present to school in incorrect uniforms, and it can be disappointing for staff to have to start the day by having a negative conversation with a student about uniforms.
Here are some reminders to help ensure your child has a positive start to the day:
This is a reminder to families that the school has a very efficient bus service. This service will ensure your child arrives at school on time and is ready for period 1 classes.
While students can use the commercial bus service free during school hours provided they have a BEE card they cannot guarantee that they will arrive ready for an 8.45 am start. Many of these services mean that students are missing up to 30 minutes of learning time each day.
Please encourage your child to use the school buses each day. This may mean they need to leave the house earlier, but it guarantees they are ready for the start of school.
The afternoon buses leave the school grounds promptly at 3pm each day. The 712a buses are now arriving at 3 pm and the later one arrives at approximately 3.10pm.
Here’s what you need to know:
Children aged 0 – 5: No change; free travel continues.
Youth aged 6 – 18: Free travel to support school commutes (before 9:00 AM and 2:30-6:00 PM), transitioning from all-day free travel. Applies on weekdays during the school term with your Bee Card on Rotorua Cityride buses, Tauranga Bayhopper buses (excluding Route 80 - Katikati Express and Route 81 - Omokoroa), and Whakatane Bayhopper Route 122.
Young adults aged 19 – 24: Standard adult fare, transitioning from the current half-price fare.
Omanu School / Mount Maunganui Intermediate / Mount Maunganui College Tauranga City Council is preparing to introduce a School Zone variable speed limit outside Omanu School, Mount Maunganui Intermediate School and Mount Maunganui College.
Variable speed limits on roads near schools are intended to:
provide a safer environment around schools during busy times such as before and after school
remind drivers to be aware of children moving around in the area
encourage active modes of travel (walking and cycling) to school.
Electronic signs will activate with the number 40 lit up (pictured) during peak times before and after school. This will mean a 40km/h speed limit is in place. Static signs may be used instead of electronic signs on quieter roads.
The signs will not operate during school holidays, weekends or teacher only days. The 40km/h variable speed limit activation times for the schools’ zone will be set for Monday – Friday, 8.10am – 9.00am and 2.45pm - 3.20pm.
The 40km/h variable schools’ speed zone will include in entirety or parts of Tui St, Ranch Rd, Golf Rd, Waitui Grove, Lodge Ave, Maunganui Rd and Links Ave (as indicated on the map below).
The electronic signs can be adjusted to 30km/h if the government passes new legislation for 30km/h limits outside schools in future.
The electronic signs will be installed in September and the speed zone will become operational soon after.
Please note that with the completion of the Links Ave safety upgrade the 30km/h temporary speed limit will now revert back to 50km/h permanent speed limit with a 40km/h variable speed limit for the school zone.