Well done to all Year 10 and 11 students working through the Literacy and Numeracy Common Assessment Activities this week. For Year 10 students, this is their first look at formal NCEA examinations. Many students will need to attempt some of these assessments again later in the year, and some will need to do so again next year. We offer plenty of support to ensure all students achieve these crucial milestones over time.

Last Saturday night saw many Year 12s and 13s dressed up and having a wonderful time at our School Ball. It was a fantastic night, well organised by Sam Wallace-Boyd and our Executive Leaders, Ollie Gillingham and Talia Coffey. The team was well supported by an army of student volunteers who made the event run smoothly. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our families who supported their children in attending the Ball in a way that ensured they had a safe and enjoyable evening.

Our student leaders dusted themselves off the following day to support our Community Ambrose Tournament at Mount Maunganui Golf Club. The weather held off just long enough for some great golf and good fun to be had in the name of supporting Mount Maunganui College. I would like to express a huge thank you to all of those who supported the day: players, sponsors and volunteers alike. Thank you to Donal Ganley and the Parent Support Group for organising this fantastic event.

2025 Lipsync went ahead last Tuesday in front of a packed and high-energy school hall. This year, there were some outstanding and very creative performances, none more so than the winning entry of Lara Oliveira and Diana Hopkinson for their rather dark, yet humorous version of Donna Summer’s ‘Last Dance’. Well done, Ruru House, for taking out the House entry and thanks to Arts Leaders Jess Sheaff and Eva Dixon and their team for organising a great event. Full details below.

Last week, Community Leaders, Cole Frazer and Morgan Sinkinson helped organise our annual Pink Shirt Day to raise awareness of bullying. Bullying can surface anywhere in our society, from daycare to retirement villages, and can be a complex and challenging problem for people and organisations to deal with. As a school, we find that dealing with small issues early is the best way of getting ahead of more serious ones. Making us aware early of concerns related to school is always the best approach.

Winter sporting codes are in full swing now, and it has been great seeing our students get involved. Thanks to all our families who support this programme by transporting to matches and supporting positively from the sidelines. We also really appreciate it when you support our students in getting to their games wearing the correct on and off court uniforms. I am also pleased to welcome our new Director of Sport, Brett Sorrenson, who has taken over from Dan Meade in this important role for the college.

Lastly, a couple of staff members have pulled together a fabulous fundraising event that I want to bring to the community’s attention. The AI Business Summit is to develop knowledge and capacity around AI for our local business community. If this is something you would be interested in, click this link or read the information below.

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Lipsync

Mount Maunganui College witnessed a fantastic night of creativity and high-quality performances at this year's Lipsync competition last week.

The band 'James' played first to a hall full of students and whānau, enjoying some hilarious antics from our talented performers. Thanks go to the professional organisational skills of our Arts Leaders, Eva Dixon and Jess Sheaff. The Arts committee created an array of decorations and the tech team and crew were flawless.

1st Overall - Diana Hopkinson and Lara Oliveira with an existential version of 'The Last Dance'.
2nd Place - Ruby Goodyear, Sage Fritchley, Kaia Miller and Jess Sheaff performing 'Lay all your love on me',
Best Junior - Phoebe Bagshaw, Makere Cowie- Beaufort, Sophie Cairncross and Lola Stevenson with 'The Schyler Sisters'
Best Lipsyncer went to Lola Stevenson, an incredible achievement from a year 9 student.

The house competition, a hard-fought conglomeration of students and teachers performing 'The Time Warp,' was won by Ruru House, 2nd Kōtuku, 3rd Takahē, and 4th Huia.

Ana Capes and Ashton Fowler won an audience favourite award for their amazing performance of 'Popular'.

SPORTS NEWSLETTER Brett Sorrenson
Director of Sport

Kia ora koutou,

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Director of Sport. My name is Brett Sorrenson and I have joined Mount Maunganui College as of last Monday. I have immediately been impressed by the sporting community and talent we have here at school. For the past three years, I have been working with Northern Districts Cricket as the Pathway and Talent Manager, prior to this I was at St Peter’s School, Cambridge as HOD History and Director of Cricket. I look forward to leading the sports programme for Mount Maunganui College and seeing you on the sidelines in the near future.

Daily Notices
The best place to get all information regarding key sporting dates is the daily notices. Students, parents and caregivers can access these at: https://www.mmc.school.nz/NEWS-1/Daily-Notices.

Off-field Sports Uniforms
Off-field sports uniforms are available online at:
https://mountmaunganuicollege.nzuniforms.com/catalog/mmc-sports-uniform-1106695.htmx
These are available in store at NZ Uniforms, 94 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga. When representing Mount Maunganui College in sport it is important to ensure that you have the correct uniform and wear this correctly, we encourage students to buy a long sleeve or short sleeve tee and / or hoodie if they don’t already have an off-field uniform.

Sponsorship
Thank you to our amazing group of sponsors who make a genuine difference to our school sports programme. Please reach out on bretts@mmc.school.nz if you’re interested in joining our sponsorship team to help sport thrive at Mount Maunganui College. We have a range of packages and sponsor benefits available and would love to connect with you.

High Achievers
Charis Broughton, Shamar Broughton and Riley McClenaghan have been selected in the New Zealand Under 16 Girls Basketball team. The girls will travel to Kuala Lumpur to compete in the FIBA Under 16 Women’s Asia Cup.

Josh Bell has been selected for the New Zealand U17 Flag Football team. Josh will be travelling to Los Angeles next month to compete in the Junior International Cup.

The following Mount Maunganui College students have been announced in the following New Zealand Youth Development Squads for Rock Climbing.

Boulder Youth Development Team
Cara Hicks
Caitlyn Fortescue
Mila Piatek
Marley de Jong

Lead Youth Development Team
Mila Piatek
Lucy Ranger
Gwyneth Parchomchuk

What’s been happening?
It has been an exciting start to the term for our winter sporting codes and it has been great to see a high number of Mount Maunganui College participants and teams in action and competing well.

Cambridge High School Exchange
For our annual exchange with Cambridge High School we travelled to Cambridge on Tuesday 6 May to compete in a number of sports. Across the day Cambridge High School came out on top with a 6-2 victory (3 draws).

J.I. Manihera Memorial Golf Tournament
On Tuesday 13 May we had two Mount Maunganui College Golf teams competing at the annual J.I. Manihera Memorial Golf Tournament in Kawerau.

Individual highlights
Tyler Ashton shot 73, taking out 1st place for the Gross Competition.
Nathan Tutt shot 74 and was 2nd equal.

Team highlights
Team 1 - Tyler Ashton, Nathan Tutt, Oscar Tutt and Tommy McKinley - placed 9th out of 19 teams in the combined Stableford competition.
Team 2 - Luca Gray, Jai Downie and Toby Borman - this was their first competition representing the school and they had a productive day of learning, meeting new students from other schools and getting a feel for what tournament play is like.

Cross Country
Recently the school cross country was held and this was followed by the BOPSS event at Waipuna Park on Wednesday 14 June. Well done to all those involved.

Mount Maunganui College Cross Country Champs
Year 9 Girls
Ellie Renwick - 1st place
Quinn Murdoch - 2nd place
Jeanne Fromont - 3rd place

Year 9 Boys
Ashton Mitford-Burgess - 1st place
Mayson Snow - 2nd place
Max McNeill - 3rd place

Junior Girls
Sophia Maltai-Spence - 1st place
Harlow Horn - 2nd place
Olive Illingworth - 3rd place

Junior Boys
Tom Crosby - 1st place
Luca O’Toole-Corrigan - 2nd place
Toby Borman - 3rd place

Under 17 Girls
Lucy Tawharu-Senf - 1st place

Under 17 Boys
Ryder Matthews - 1st place
Ryleigh McEwan - 2nd place
Archie Beale - 3rd place

Senior Girls
Lucy Tawharu-Senf - 1st place
Ishta Joyce - 2nd place
Sophie Bowling - 3rd place

Senior Boys
Lockie Cairns / Ryder Matthews - 1st place
Ollie Gillingham - 2nd place
Niko Manins - 3rd place

BOPSS Cross Country Champs
Yeah 9 Girls
Ellie Renwick - 7th place
Jeanne Fromont - 8th place
Quinn Murdoch - 10th place
Team placing - 2nd place

Year 9 Boys
Ashton Mitford-Burgess - 6th place
Mayson Snow - 9th place
Finn Borman - 16th place
Team placing - 2nd place

Junior Girls
Sophia Maltai-Spence - 9th place
Harlow Horn - 12th place

Junior Boys
Tom Crosby - 12th place
Toby Borman - 13th place
Team placing - 3rd place

Senior Boys
Ryder Matthews - 10th (Snr) and 3rd (U17)
Ollie Gillingham - 23rd place
Niko Manins - 25th place
Team placing - 3rd place

Mountain Biking
Our MTB team competed at the BOPSS Championships at Summerhill over 16-17 June and the team continued their good form and raced well with some great performances. Podium finish performances are highlighted below.

Enduro
Under 17 Girls - Ellie Davis - 1st place
Under 17 Boys - Chris Harte - 3rd place

XCO
Under 15 Boys - Mayson Snow - 3rd place

Technical testing
Under 15 Boys - Mayson Snow - 1st place
Under 16 Boys - Toby Bowling - 3rd place
Under 17 Girls - Ellie Davis - 1st place

XC Team Relay
Under 16 Boys - Mayson Snow, Ashton Mitford-Burgess and Ryder Hall - 2nd place

Basketball
The basketball season is underway with 24 teams representing Mount Maunganui College. Early season highlights include the Premier and Junior Boys winning the recent Trident Invitational Tournaments in Whakatane.

Netball
The first week of games for our netball squads has been completed, and it has been a positive start across the grades. A massive thank you to everyone for being kind and understanding to our coaches, managers, and umpires who generously give up their time to develop and support our players—it doesn’t go unnoticed, and we appreciate your involvement. A quick reminder to all players to please remember to sign and return player agreement forms.

Tauranga Netball Representative Teams
Congratulations to all Mount Maunganui College students who have been selected for the following Tauranga Netball Representative Teams.

Under 14 A Team
Jade Egan-Powell
Jess Sutcliffe
Lara Wright
Madeline Orchard

Under 14 B Team
Arielle Egan-Powell
Charlee Russell

Under 14 Training Partners
Sophie Boss

Under 16 B Team
Courtney Marburg-Dreadon
Pa’Shence Pokaia

Under 16 Training Partners
Sienna Latu

Under 18 Women’s Representative Squad
Chelsey Ericksen
Mia Namok

Football
Football kicked off at the beginning of this term, with four weeks of grading games underway. It’s been fantastic to see students enjoying the game and working together on the pitch. Our Premier Boys won their first qualifying match on Monday 19 May, against Rotorua Boys High School in a bid to make the Premier tournament during Winter Tournament Week. The Premier Girls and 2nd XI Girls are also training hard and working towards their upcoming tournament, with the Premier Girls set to compete in the Premier tournament, playing against the top 32 secondary school teams in the country. This year, Mount Maunganui College is proud to have nine teams representing the school across all grades. A reminder to all players to keep coaches and managers updated about their availability for games and training via Heya.

Volleyball
Congratulations to all Mount Maunganui College students who have been selected to represent BOP at this years Senior Inter-Provincial Champs.

Under 17 Girls Development
Jojo Petelo-Titi

Under 19 Girls Development
Abbie Murrell

Under 17 A Boys
Boston Sherris

Under 19 A Boys
Era Taie
Kingston Harris

Men’s NTR’S - U19 Boys
Owen Reaves

What’s coming up?
Registrations are open for the below events, further details can be found via the daily notices. Please sign up at the sports office.

WBOPSS Cross Country Championships - Wednesday 4 June - Mangatarata
WBOP Junior Badminton Qualifier - Friday 6 June - Tauranga
WBOP Senior Badminton Qualifier - Wednesday 18 June - Tauranga
BOPSS Squash Boys Individual Championships - Wednesday 11 June - Tauranga
BOPSS Squash Girls Individual Championships - Tuesday 17 June - Tauranga
BOPSS Rock Climbing Championships - Friday 13 June - Mount Maunganui
NISS Artistic Swimming Cup - Friday 13 June - Saturday 14 June - Auckland
NZSS Cross Country Championships - Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 June - Whangarei

Winter Sports Season
As we head further into the winter season, make the most of your sporting opportunities and please ensure you set high standards when representing Mount Maunganui College.

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Social Media
Please follow us on;

Facebook: Mount Maunganui College Sport
Instagram: Mount Maunganui College Sport

Tauranga has many businesses doing pretty intelligent things in the Ai space. If you want to learn from them, join us at the Tauranga Ai Business Summit in the afternoon of 6th June, 2025. Learn, network, and make an impact. Grappling with the how, what and why of Ai with your business? There is something on this afternoon for you.

Academics from The University of Waikato including Nicholas Agar, Te Taka Keegan and Karyn Rastrick will provide some of the latest theory, whilst presenters from businesses including Zespri International, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, WAVE agency, SmartSpace.ai, Craigs Investment Partners, James & Wells IP, Parallo and Mulberry St. will be sharing business case studies and practical tips for how to consider the integration of Ai in different industries and for different levels of use.

All proceeds from this incredible professional learning afternoon will be used to fund scholarships for deserving students to embark on overseas learning opportunities in SE Asia and the USA, or assist in funding university scholarships for students from Mount Maunganui College.

More information and opportunity to secure your spot, visit: https://events.humanitix.com/tauranga-ai-business-summit

Gateway at Mount Maunganui College is undergoing a period of significant growth. We now have two Year 11 classes and two Year 12/13 classes supported by our teachers, Mrs Roe, Mr Cook and Ms Williams.

Students are encouraged to explore career options through work experience, such as:

SEEDS / Woolworths
McDonald’s (Oasis)
BCITO (building construction)
MITO (automotive and quarrying)
Hair to Train and Havana Barbers
EarnLearn (plumbing, electrical and scaffolding)

There are also many other industries and experiences on offer to support students' interests and needs.

Beyond our four timetabled classes, Gateway programmes can be offered to all Year 11, 12 and 13 students and typically carry 20 credits that count towards NCEA. These programmes are a great way for students to add value to their CV, build confidence, develop good work habits and possibly gain employment.

CONTACT DETAILS

Gateway Co-ordinator
Rosie Swinkels, rosies@mmc.school.nz - 021 186 9331
Gateway Administrator
April Wright, gateway@mmc.school.nz - 021 112 5808
Location
Next to the C7 classroom, accessible through the glass door on the deck.

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UNIFORM

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:

Uniform guidelines.
As per the Board approved uniform the school skirt is not to have the length modified (eg shortened).
If sandals are worn they must be black and have a back strap.
If shoes are worn they must be completely black and polishable.
Please ensure your child also adheres to our jewellery standards. No septums or rings are permitted on the face.
Eyelash extensions are not permitted.
We would like to remind families that only Mount Maunganui College trousers are to be worn. These can only be purchased from NZ Uniforms.
Students can wear a non-regulation waterproof jacket to and from school on wet days.
Discipline and defiance procedures will be used to deal with ongoing uniform issues if not resolved promptly.

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VEHICLE SAFTEY

Kia ora Students and Whanau

If your child drives to school in their car or on their motorbike/ moped, please have a conversation with them about the appropriate use of their vehicle.

We have noticed a few things at school.
Students on restricted licenses are bringing passengers to and from school.
Students on mopeds are taking up multiple parks around the streets when there is a designated area for mopeds.
A small number of students are not following road rules when leaving school, particularly in Macville Park, which poses a danger to themselves and others, often speeding or swerving between cars on scooters.

A reminder that our school area is very busy at the beginning and end of each day with neighbouring primary schools, early childcare centres and many members of the public. It is great to see our students working towards and obtaining their licence, but that also comes with great responsibility.

Our priority is keeping our students and those who use adjoining roads safe, so we appreciate your support with this.

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SCHOOL ACCESS AND VISITOR PARKING

We acknowledge that the new school development will mean additional difficulties for some families accessing the school during drop off and pick up times.

The previous ‘main’ school carpark has now only one point of entry and exit, thereby making it inappropriate for drop off and pick ups and is now restricted to visitor parking only. If you do have to use this gate when visiting the school, be mindful of cars entering and exiting. See the map below that designates visitor parking.

The new staff carpark now has barrier arms and is limited to staff parking only. The arms will be down from 7:30 am through to 3:20 pm during weekdays. Outside of these hours the carpark will remain open to all.

If you plan on picking up and dropping off your child before and after school, this needs to happen on the surrounding streets.

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ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Please see attached the revised attendance codes from the Ministry of Education, which have come into full effect this year. You will see that these attendance codes now fall into the three categories.

The only category contributing to our student's present attendance percentage is the codes under “Present for ½ day calculations”.

The other codes under “Justified absence” and “Unjustified absence” do not contribute towards the Ministry of Education’s present percentage. This allows schools and whānau to see an accurate indication of a student's presence at school.

Helpful links:

Guidance for Parents and Caregivers - Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school

Student Attendance - A guide for parents and caregivers

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SCHOOL BUS SERVICE

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.

Up-to-date information on the school buses is on the school website https://www.mmc.school.nz/key-info/bus-information

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.

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HONOURS BOARDS

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.

HONOURS BOARD LINK

Concerns have been raised of how some students are using the roads near school. The area will be monitored regularly to maintain safety on these roads.

Waitui Grove parking – Be considerate of residents and other road users when parking. Keep driveways clear. Drivers must legally park at least one metre from a vehicle entrance and 6 meters from an intersection.

Motorbikes and Mopeds – Share the road safely with other users. When riding with others on motorbikes or mopeds you must be single ﬁle when passing a cyclist, another motorbike/moped or vehicle (parked or moving). Providing there are no other road users you can legally travel two abreast (only on your side of the road).

Maunganui Road Bus Stop near Tui St roundabout – Users please access this stop by using the footpath school side of Maunganui Rd and crossing at the refuge shown below. Do not walk along the road. If you need to sit down while waiting, do not sit on the kerb. We will advocate for a shelter here, in the meantime please adhere to the above for your own and others safety.

Pick Ups Maunganui Road opposite school – Stopping or parking on broken yellow lines is prohibited. If you are being dropped of or picked up on the other side of Maunganui Road make alternate arrangements. No stopping yellow lines run the entire length of the road opposite school.

Lipsync

UPDATE OF DETAILS

Congratulations …

UNIFORM

VEHICLE SAFTEY

SCHOOL ACCESS AND VISITOR PARKING

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

SCHOOL BUS SERVICE

STUDENT ID PHOTOS

HONOURS BOARDS

ALUMNI

KEY DATES