14 June 2024

Our annual Open Night took place on Monday 10th June. We had over 800 people in the school across the two sessions. As is tradition, parents/caregivers and prospective students were given a tour of the school – led by our Prefects and leaders from Year 12. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with particular (deserved) praise being directed at our students, and those teachers who showcased what we offer through interactive displays and activities with assistance from a small army of enthusiastic student helpers.

We have also had our annual Year 8 days. These involved hundreds of Year 8 students from across our catchment spending a day in at Massey to get a taster of secondary school. Again, our teachers and junior leadership students involved in putting on the day were superb advertisements for our school. 

These are backed up by visits to our contributing schools, utilizing the voice of our Year 9 students who have come to us from those schools combined with Prefects (who also came to us from those schools) who are nearing the end of their time at Massey High School. My thanks to Sadie van der Kraaij and Brendon Wheeler (our Year 8/9 Ākina Leaders) for putting together the presentations for our schools.

The high turnout bodes well for sustained growth of our in-zone enrolments. This growth has prompted the Ministry of Education to confirm with us that four new classrooms will be in-place for the start of 2025.

Uniform Additions from 2025

Our Year 8 community has been advised via newsletters from their current schools of some additions that are being made to our uniform from 2025. The most notable change is the introduction of shorts, the first significant addition to the current uniform since it was introduced. From 2025 students will also be able to wear sandals (although they must meet regulation, and covered toe shoes will still be required in Science and Technology). Full details of the additions can be found on our website at:

Uniform

I’d like to draw attention to the fact that these changes have come about as the result of the work put in by our student leaders, who have channeled the voice of the student body, and the wider community. They presented a well-constructed case which was then taken to our Board, who signed off on the additions at the most recent Board meeting. These student leaders will be presenting to all year levels in the coming weeks – outlining the changes and how regulations apply to them.

Please note – current uniform regulations still apply – sandals may not yet be worn by students. We will advise our community when that change will come into effect.

Sport

I’ve had the privilege of getting out to a variety of sports over the past few weeks. Watching netball last week really highlighted the connection to the school that many of our students have, and their service leadership. Of four teams that I followed, three were coached and managed by senior students. Similarly, the work that recent alumni are doing with some of our teams is wonderful to see – that students who are no longer at our school, who are involved in their own further study and their own considerable sporting commitments, can make time to return to coach younger students is incredible to see. I know that our Sports Department regularly thank our volunteers across so many sporting codes but I would like to add my thanks as well.

Our First XV have made improvements over the past couple of weeks and it was great to see them pick up a handsome victory over Takapuna Grammar last week, they played with real pride and commitment. They face sterner competition against Whangarei Boys High School tomorrow.

Our Second XV were unlucky to fall short against Westlake Boys last week having led for much of the game. Their first half on the day was some of the best rugby I have seen at any level for a long time. 

At the younger end, it is great to see the growth in numbers at junior level and although our U14 (Harbour) team have had some difficult games, they are playing well and learning valuable lessons that will put them in good stead for the future. I’m looking forward to seeing our U14 (Auckland) and U15 (Auckland) teams playing at home tomorrow. 

Likewise, the growth in our Girls rugby team has been great to see and they are becoming quite a formidable unit – a credit to the players and coaches involved.

Upcoming Events

Most of our major events on the near horizon are in the field of the arts – I’m looking forward to seeing our Sublimitas Choir perform on Tuesday at The Big Sing at The Town Hall. They have a proud tradition of success at the competition and their preparations again have been second-to-none. My thanks to all involved with our choir.

We also have students competing at the Smokefree Rockquest – and they have been fortunate over the past few days to have one-on-one sessions with prominent NZ musician Laughton Kora (Kora, Black Comet), we are grateful for his time and thoughts are that his influence on these young musicians will be significant.

Whilst still a few weeks away, our Showcase Event which takes place every second year is on the horizon. Showcase is three nights of music and performances encompassing the best talent from Massey High School, groups from our contributing schools, and notable alumni. They are superb evenings and I recommend you get tickets to see and hear the best of students from West Auckland.