6 November 2023

Our senior students have now finished their time in class for the year, with their attention now being focused on NCEA Exams which begin on Monday 6th November.

Senior students who have assessments yet to be submitted, or resubmissions to complete, will be in the school through the course of this week – working in specified areas to submit outstanding work. As mentioned in my last Panui, our students will not be offered packages of additional credits to simply ‘get them over the line’, they will only be provided with an opportunity to submit work that they may not have been ready to submit earlier in the year. The rationale being that they put into practice better habits in the next stage of their qualifications journey.

Parents and caregivers are being kept advised of their children’s progress in this regard, with reminders being sent in the morning if the student has not arrived – but also a message of thanks and acknowledgement for those who do arrive and get on with completing outstanding work.

Junior Students

Our Year 9 and 10 students are effectively ‘the school’ for the remainder of the year. They have their own exams in the coming weeks, exams that are designed to have these students become accustomed to the rigour of examinations prior to their first real exams when they reach Year 11. Better to develop the habits needed now when the stakes are not quite as high.

Our focus will be on ensuring that students are in class every period, prepared for class (correct equipment including a suitable device – laptop or Chromebook), and in correct uniform. It is also a chance for our junior students to shine, to let their leadership come to the fore. They also have an exciting suite of activities scheduled for the end of term.

Senior Prizegiving

Wednesday 1st November was our Senior Prize Giving, the major event in our season of celebration. The evening celebrates the success of our Year 12 and 13 students and incorporates the announcement of the winner of the House Cup (a new winner this year), announcement of House Leaders and Gold Badge Prefects for 2023, naming of the school Dux (the most prestigious award of the year), as well as a slew of special awards and acknowledgements.

This year, we acknowledged Bob Wrightson’s 43 years of service at Massey High School. Mr Wrightson has taught and influenced countless students/artists in his time here. He has announced that he is retiring at the end of this year.

Two of our staff were recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty – Sadie van der Kraiij receiving the Terry Smyth Travel Award, and Anna North being recognised for her work winning the Support Staff Award.

It was an honour to have Bruce Ritchie in the audience, and to be able to acknowledge the influence he had on me when I started my teaching career at Massey High School. Bruce retired at the end of 2014, but the impact of his 21 years of leadership here is still visible.

Mātauranga House were named as the 2023 House Cup Champions, narrowly pipping the competition by 10 points following a full year of House events.

Our House Leaders for 2024 were named:

• Hiranga House – Lachlan Doyle (Waitakere Primary School) and Sarah Pettyjohn (Hobsonville School)
• Kārearea House – Mose Vaka (Colwill Primary School) and Zoe Armitage (Waitakere Primary School)
• Mātauranga House – Job Magpantay (Henderson Intermediate) and Charis Villaneuva (Rangeview Intermediate)
• Tūrama House – Ben Brooks (Waimauku School) and Peleise Seumanutafa

As were our Gold Badge Prefects for 2024:

• Academy Leaders – Daniel Dennis (Colwill Primary School) and Kiran Whyte (Massey Primary School)
• Arts Leaders – Ella Smith (Riverhead School) and Rebekah Lile (Lincoln Heights Primary School)
• Community Leaders – Amy Major and Lily Harvey (Huapai District School)
• Cultural Leaders – Jagger Katoa-Hansen and Portia Meredith-Numia
• Sports Leaders – Alec Death (Whenuapai Primary School) and Willow Rissetto (Taupaki School)
• Academic Leaders – Kayleigh Hooper (Royal Road Primary School) and Gab Aninion (Matua Ngaru School)

For the first time ever, all four of our Head Prefects came to Massey High School from the same school – in this case, Waimauku School. We were fortunate to have Gary Pasfield, the Principal of Waimauku at our Prizegiving and it was wonderful to see him on stage with his former students after they were announced.

• Deputy Head Prefects for 2024: Rafi Grocott and Amelia Watt
• Head Prefects for 2024: Harriet Barter and Henry Fisher

The final four awards of the evening were our most prestigious, the top academic students in Years 12 and 13, including the announcement of the top award – Dux Litterarum.

Seek the Heights for Outstanding Academic Achievement (Runner up Year 12 Student) - Charlotte Murdoch (Rangeview Intermediate)

Charlotte gained NCEA Level 1 endorsed with Excellence, she now has a total of 193 NCEA credits including 70 Excellence credits at Level 2, and 4 at Level 3. This year she is entered in Scholarship English and Geography.

Naddy Naidoo Award (Top Academic Student in Year 12) - Ryan Fairweather (Waitakere Primary School)

Ryan gained NCEA Level 1 endorsed with Excellence, he now has 63 Level 2 Excellence credits and an astonishing 24 Excellence credits at Level 3. Ryan was also awarded with the top Academic Student in Year 11 at the end of 2022.

The Peel Award for Proxime Accessit (Runner up Year 13 student) - Anika Powell

Anika gained NCEA Levels 1 and 2 both endorsed with Excellence, she currently has 98 Level 3 credits, 64 of which are at Excellence level. She plans to study Biomedical Engineering and is entered in 5 Scholarship exams.

The Clem Campton Award for School Dux (top Academic Student in Massey High School) - Rebekah Trew (Taupaki School)

Rebekah has proven herself to be a top achiever throughout her years at Massey High School, gaining a total of 265 NCEA Excellence credits since Year 9. Having gained NCEAL Levels 1 and 2 with Excellence, she has gained 81 Level 3 Excellence credits, meaning she already has her Level 3 certificate endorsed with Excellence. She has combined academic excellence with wide ranging involvement in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

It was wonderful to have our two top academic students joined on stage by their families as they received their awards.

Farewell to Year 13

Thursday and Friday were dedicated to giving our Year 13s a send-off that recognised their time with us at Massey High School. Our Year 13s were superb through the last few weeks and nearly all attended the Massey High School Foundation Lunch on Thursday morning.

Friday was Graduation and we were almost overwhelmed by parents and caregivers. It was humbling to see so many in to witness their children crossing the stage one last time as our graduating students received their certificates and said farewell to their Deans and Tutor Teachers.

Lana Gosse (Head Prefect in 2019) gave a stirring address, extolling the impact Massey High School had on her, and the tolls it equipped her with in her journey after school. Lana using those tools in completing her degree in International Relations and International Organisations from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and Tsinghua University in China.

Again, it was a bittersweet morning, as it is always hard to say goodbye to our Year 13 cohort – you want them to stay on and add more to Massey, but you know it is time for them to leave. There were also a number of families in who have been associated with our school for many years that were saying farewell as their youngest graduated.