I extend a special welcome to our new students and their families. Thank you for choosing Mount Maunganui College.
This week saw our Year 9 and other new students welcomed formally to our school through our powhiri, and orientation for these students is underway. I recognise and appreciate the immense contribution of our Year 13 student leaders, house leaders, and career ambassadors in making the transition a positive experience for our Year 9 students.
I want to take this opportunity to introduce our school leaders for 2024.
Head Students Sophia Brock Gus Tustin
Academic Leaders Sarah Adlam Luca Ririnui
Arts Leaders Jenna Adlington David Fourie
Community Leaders Sean Collins Amber Peck
Cultural Leaders Isabella Giurizatto Scott Miles Usherwood
Executive Leaders Mackenzie Crawford Lockie Williams
I look forward to sharing more from this great team as the term progresses.
Next week, we will see all our students return to school as our academic year begins. I am pleased to report that, once again, our achievement rates for 2023 well surpassed the national average. Our continued academic legacy should be both a source of pride and a challenge to our 2024 students.
The beginning of the year can be exciting and stressful for some students and families. It is important that any questions families may have regarding their child’s education are raised immediately. I have included a list of key staff members further in this newsletter.
I sincerely thank our Parent Support Group, who organised and ran our annual second-hand uniform sale. We understand that the start of the school year can be a ‘pinch point’ for families, and this is an excellent service the group provides. As mentioned last week, the Board of Members has elected to move into the School Donation Scheme, which will help further reduce the cost of schooling for families.
Here's to another great year at Mount Maunganui College.
Many of you will be aware that late last year, the government announced a cell phone ban for students at school.
While our existing school policy was working well, the new directive makes it clear that a total ban during the day, at all times, is the expectation for all students.
We are amending our policy to ensure it aligns with national guidelines.
Therefore, from the commencement of school in 2024, students will not be allowed to use their phones during school hours, including break times, including using a cellphone to make payments at the canteen. Our discipline procedures will be enacted if students are seen with their phones.
We advise families to encourage their children to leave their phones at home. If brought to school, they must always remain off and in their bag. The school accepts no responsibility should phones be lost.
Last year, the Board of Members decided to opt into the government's School Donations Scheme for 2024.
This decision has been made based on our current financial position and commitment to maintaining the rich learning opportunities available at Mount Maunganui College.
Fundamentally, this means that the school, not families, will cover curriculum costs by opting into the School Donation Scheme. While there are some examples where costs can be charged, we expect families will notice a reduction in the cost of schooling for their children.
Co-curricular costs associated with sports, arts, and cultural activities will still incur costs and be charged to families.
The Board will review this decision annually, and should the school feel that remaining in the scheme becomes unviable, the Board will notify families and reserve the right to opt out of the scheme.
The content of this newsletter relates to upcoming opportunities in sport at Mount Maunganui College. Achievements and results from recent sports will be included in the next newsletter.
The best place to get all the information regarding muster and trial dates is the daily notices. Although we encourage students to take responsibility for themselves, parents and caregivers can access these at; https://www.mmc.school.nz/NEWS-1/Daily-Notices.
There is a lot of information in this newsletter so please skim through and find the info that’s relevant to you/your child.
Mount Maunganui College Strength and Conditioning Programme We have been lucky enough to acquire the skills of Angelo Medina Hubert as our school strength and conditioning coach. Angelo specialises in the athletic development of students specific to their sport and will operate out of the school fitness centre. S&C is vital for our student athletes who are serious about their sport and performing to the best of their ability. Benefits include;
Injury prevention
Improved speed and agility
Improved strength and power
Improved movement patterns and performance specific to sport
Please note that this will replace the sports academy we had in conjunction with Athlete Factory. We must acknowledge the awesome work of Rohan, Ben, Mike and many others at Athlete Factory and thank them for the wonderful opportunities they provided in the athletic development of our students.
The cost of this programme will be $50 per term. More information about the Mount Maunganui College Strength and Conditioning programme will be sent out shortly so please keep your eyes peeled for that.
Any student wanting to participate in the Tauranga City Basketball 3x3 Basketball Summer Series to come and see Tiffany in the sports office to register their team and team manager.
We are this year introducing a school Beach Volleyball programme, kindly facilitated by Mount Maunganui College parent, Shane Rosemeyer. Shane has capacity to work with eight players so the programme will need to be restricted to this number unless we have other members of the community come forward that are able to help. Trials will be held at Main Beach at 7am, 14 and 15 February. Email Mr Meade if you’d like more details regarding the programme and/or trials.
Registrations are now open for registering to play Futsal in Term 1, 2024. We must have our teams registered with WaiBOP before 8th February. As a result, our cut off date for registration is Monday 5th February to allow us time to create teams and register them with WaiBOP. Please register at https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/155881
Dates and Venues The leagues in Term 1 will be as follows: Sundays – 18th February to the 7th April (Sundays, 7 weeks – no games Easter weekend - 31st March). Mondays (Futsal Men’s Premiership) - 19th February to the 8th April (7 weeks - no game 1st April).
Note: Premiere Junior Boys and Girls and Premiere Senior Girls are confirmed to compete in the Futsal NZSS in Wellington. Juniors - Girls 18th-20th March, Boys 20th-22nd March Seniors - Girls 18-20th March Senior Premiere Boys team entry TBC - 20th-22nd March.
New Year 9s are welcome to attend our open skills sessions Mondays (Boys) and Fridays (Girls) after school in Term 1. Come and upskill and make new friends! You definitely don’t have to have played Volleyball before.
Also in Term 1, Tauranga Volleyball host JUNIOR weekly leagues on Tuesday (Competitive) and Wednesday (Social) nights, across Mercury and QEYC (Tauranga), starting Week 2 (mid February) 2024.
Any Year 9 student interested in playing in the Wednesday Social league, should come and register their full team (minimum 6 players) in the Sports Office. If they cannot get a group of friends together to play, they can register themselves individually and we will do our best to find them a team. Competitive Year 9s are welcome/encouraged to enter the Tuesday Competitive league, but the teams will have input from MMC teachers/coaches.
Seniors (and Year 10s) wanting to play socially can enter the Tauranga Volley Leagues too.
Junior teams need to be registered at school by 9 February and Senior teams 6 February, so teams can be registered with Tauranga Volleyball Club.
Competitive Senior (and Year 10) Volleyball trials have been completed and these teams also play Term 1.
Term 3 we hold our trials for competitive Junior (Year 9 and 10) and Senior teams, as the Junior Volleyball season starts Term 4.
Senior Waterpolo is played in Term 1. Registrations for this are open on the Waterpolo code page.
The competition dates are: Local competition is held at Baywave on Thursday afternoons from 4-9 pm (works on rotation). NISS - Auckland March 21 - 24th NZSS - Div 1 Wellington - April 13 - 19th, Div 2 Hamilton - April 13 - 19th
Trainings are Wednesday morning at Baywave 7:30 - 8:30 am and Sunday 10 - 12. The coach may require extra training, which will be communicated to parents and students when required. Coaches suggest that if the players are not already swimming in a squad or the pool for the club, they aim to keep swimming fit. Coaches may need to hold a trial to make teams and will communicate with parents and students when this is happening.
Junior Waterpolo is played in Term 4. However, we may enter one junior boy and one junior girl team in the Term 1 Senior League if players are available. Students who put their names down for this need to be experienced players due to the competition they will face. These players must commit to all Thursday night games and be open to supporting the senior team if required to fill spots. All junior players (competitive and social) can enter the Junior League in Term 4. Please keep an eye on the Daily Notices for more details.
All students interested in playing Cricket are encouraged to register and play for their club. There will be many opportunities to represent Mount Maunganui College during school/term time and this will not impact them playing for their club. Anyone interested in representing the school please contact Mr Golding via email or in H3. Keep an eye on the Daily News for details.
Rowing training starts in Term 3. We combine with Tauranga Rowing Club to deliver rowing at Mount Maunganui College and students compete for the club in the first part of the season before competing for school after Christmas.
We offer two levels of Surfing. Progressive Surfing for students who are new to the sport or at an average level and our Surf Academy for our top surfers. Information will be put in the daily news early in Term 1 for students interested in trialling for the Academy.
Students interested in Progressive Surfing should contact Miss Grimmer on alishag@mmc.school.nz or see her in the science block.
Touch will continue on Thursday nights in term 1 for our current senior team, starting 25th January with finals day Carnival of Touch on Sunday March 3rd. Next season will start in October on Tuesday’s for juniors and Thursday’s for seniors. Please keep an eye on the daily notices for updates.
Event: BOPSS Triathlon Date: 20 February, 2024 Venue: Port Ohope Reserve, Harbour Rd Times: Check in - 7.45am-8.30am Managers meeting - 8.15am First race - 9.00am Expected to finish by 2pm Cost: Approximately $25 per individual, $40.00 per team. Uniform: Singlets and swim caps are to be borrowed from the Sports Office and returned clean the following week
Note, transport is not provided for this event and we will need a parent to volunteer as the team manager. Please contact Loren if you’re able to help.
Event: BOPSS Senior Tennis Championships Event Date: Wednesday, 28 Feb 2023 Entries Close: Wednesday, 21 February 2024 Time: 8:45 briefing (players & managers) for a 9.00am start Venue: Venture Developments WBOP Tennis Centre, Gordon Spratt Reserve, Papamoa Entries to: EnterNow (School’s Sports Coordinator) Cost: Approximately $20 per WBOP player, $15.00 - per EBOP and CBOP player Wet Weather: Ranked Players (via TournamentSoftware) and team managers will receive a text and email.
Event: BOPSS Golf Champs Date: Monday 26 February Entries Close: Monday 19 February Venue: Tauranga Golf Club Grades: Teams of 3 players - 18 holes and team gross score is taken (2 out of 3 scores). Students can enter as individuals if there are not enough members from their school to form a full team. Cost: Approximately $30 per team Event Deliverer: Bay of Plenty Golf Times: Players to register 20 minutes before their tee time
Transport arrangements will be made once we have confirmed the number of entries
We offer a competitive Sailing option for experienced sailors, as well as a ‘Learn to Sail’ option for those keen to try a new sport. Both programmes are run in conjunction with the Tauranga Yacht Club. For more information and to register your interest, please visit; https://www.mmc.school.nz/sport/sports-codes-1/sailing-1.
School Athletics School Athletics is run by PE Teacher, Mr Alex Parker. The top place getters who also meet qualifying times and distances will have the opportunity to attend BOPSS Athletics.
Date: Thursday 15 February Venue: Tauranga Domain Transport: Buses will transport students from school and back again. The timings of these buses will not interfere with the buses students catch to and from school. Compulsory for Y9 and Y13 students Sign up process: To be confirmed. Please keep an eye on the daily notices.
School Swimming Sports School swimming sports is run by PE Teacher, Mr Alex Parker. The top swimmers will then have the opportunity to attend BOPSS Swimming Champs. Date: Thursday 29 February Venue: Mount Maunganui College Pool Sign up process: To be confirmed. Please keep an eye on the daily notices.
February 2024 6 Waitangi Day 15 Athletics Day 20 ID Photos 21 Year 9 BBQ (5pm-6:30pm) 27 NCEA Evening (6pm-7pm) 28 ID Photos Catch Up 28 Information Evening (6pm-7pm) 29 Swimming Sports
March 2024 7 Engagement Report Issued 14 School Interviews (4pm-7pm) 15 School Interviews (School Closed) 29 Good Friday
April 2024 1 Easter Monday 2 Easter Tuesday 3 Sheilah Winn Regionals 5 Engagement Report Issued 9 Cambridge Sports Exchange 12 Last Day Term 1 29 First Day Term 2
