With the school year rapidly drawing to the end for our senior boys, we are recognising achievement in a number of areas at our prizegiving and award ceremonies.

On Thursday night we acknowledged our top achieving Māori boys at our Tū Rangatira Awards evening and tonight, Friday will recognise the achievement of our Pasifika boys.  It is great to be able to gather as a community to acknowledge and reward those who have excelled showing diligence, excellence and leadership.  

Next week we have the Arts Awards evening on Wednesday at 6.30pm in the GYYT and on Friday, the Sports Awards assembly in the Gymnasium at 9.30am.  Parents and whānau are warmly invited to attend.  

On Monday the senior boys will be given a clear message about our expectations over their final week of school prior to being released on NCEA study leave.  I will communicate directly to parents of Year 13 boys regarding this.

I take the opportunity to remind our Year 12 boys and parents of the requirements necessary in order to wear Senior Uniform (the white polo shirt) in Year 13, and enjoy the related privileges of permission to leave the school grounds at interval and lunchtime, and use of a motor-vehicle to and from school.  This is a privilege gained through either achieving NCEA Level 2 or by application.  Those students who do not achieve NCEA Level 2 will need to apply for permission to wear the Senior Uniform.  The criteria for permission to be granted will be based on effort, attendance and behaviour.  Not achieving NCEA Level 2 will not prevent a student from being granted permission to wear the Senior Uniform, provided the other three criteria have been met.  

Where boys have worked at a satisfactory level to achieve their academic potential, attended school regularly and met expectations of behaviour, they will be given permission to wear the Senior Uniform.  Those who have made minimal effort, have irregular attendance and / or have not met expectations of behaviour, will not be given this privilege.  This policy has been introduced to further motivate our senior boys to achieve their academic potential and not to penalise those who struggle to reach this level of achievement.  Those who find academic achievement at this level more difficult will not be disadvantaged provided they are making the required effort to achieve.  

With NCEA external exams approaching, and only 6 days left before Seniors are released on Study Leave, the College is a busy place.  We are working to maximise the last remaining school days to ensure our boys are well prepared for the upcoming external exams.  I would encourage parents to ensure their sons are focused on revision and preparation for the culmination of the academic year.

Reports for senior students will be posted online by Monday 2 November.  These are accessed through the parent portal on our website https://www.tbc.school.nz.  If you have any problems accessing the report please contact the college or email r.scott@tbc.school.nz.  Should you require a hard copy of the report please contact the College Office. 

The boys also have a number of commitments to meet with their year at the College ending, and I would ask you to ensure they attend to these.  A number have outstanding fees that need to be paid prior to the end of the year.  

I look forward to acknowledging and sharing in the achievement of our boys in Academic, Cultural and Sporting endeavours over the next few weeks.       

   
Kind regards,

R W Mangan
Principal

Our annual Tū Rangatira evening recognises the ranges of successes that Māori students have been involved in throughout the year. While many events this year were disrupted due to the global pandemic, the evening was still able to proceed with students achieving many great milestones in a range of areas.

We recognised junior students who have demonstrated the traits of pukumahi (diligence) and kairangi (excellence) and were commended by their teachers.  Senior students distinguished themselves academically, culturally and in a sporting arena and these were recognised also.

Year 12 and Year 13 student leaders were recognised for the trait of Amorangi (leadership). Year 13 students were celebrated with their whānau as a way to recognise their time here at the college and their various accomplishments.

To have whānau come together from throughout Tauranga Moana is always a pleasure and to celebrate in such a way was a great way to mark the end of an era for many of our students. 

Today at my Principal's Assembly we recognised "Service" to the college and to the wider community.  The following boys were acknowledged from nominations received from staff.

At Principal's Assembly last week, a group of Year 13 students were awarded their Gold Centurion badge.  This means that they achieved NCEA Level 3, achieving 100% of the credits that they are entered in.  This is an outstanding achievement recognising diligence and application to studies throughout the whole year with both internal assessments and external exams.  Centurion status is a goal a large number of our boys aspire to, and it is really encouraging to be able to recognise boys who achieved this status. 

To mark the first year of their time at Tauranga Boys' College, Year 9 Māori students were ushered into Aronui where they met with a number of student leaders and staff.  They were presented with a simple rakau, cut from Manuka.  Senior students presented the rakau to them and shared stories about their time at the College and their plans for life after school.  Once each student was presented with their rakau, they gathered at the front of the Wharenui where Matua Komene and some senior students taught the basic Mau Rakau skills. 

Over time these Year 9 student will grow into senior students to make the most of the opportunities that they are presented with at the College.  Those who rise to the challenge will be presented with a gift when they leave where the rough, Manuka rakau is shaped and polished into a Koikoi to mark their own changes and growth in their time here.   

Over four days from 15-19 October, nine young men attended the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Swimming Championships.
 
It was a successful event with Tauranga Boys’ College swimmers having success from Session 1 as Gus Shivnan and two of our relay teams won medals.  Session 2 started at 7.00am and the early start was easier for some than others, namely Mr Mitchell.  There were some pleasing results throughout this session, with three of the boys swimming personal best times.  The highlight was Gus Shivnan swimming in the Skins event, which is a new event, where the slowest two swimmers from each heat drop off until a winner is found.  Gus had just swum his 200m Individual Medley, and was unfortunately knocked out after round one.
 
Session 3 saw Tarquin Magner win two medals and the other boys achieving personal bests in their chosen events and in session 4, Tarquin won another medal, with Kalani Bruce, Jamie Robins and Brayden Schravi all doing well in their breaststroke.
 
Session 5 was the final session and it started well with the boys who were brave enough to enter the 200m Individual Medley all swimming well, with Gus just missing out on a medal.  Tarquin won gold in the ‘splash and dash’, 50m Freestyle, and our 16 and Over 4 x 50m Freestyle relay team of: Tarquin, Joe Cook, Kel Iggleden and Gus winning the silver medal.
 
Overall, it was a very successful meet, with the boys all doing well and everyone achieving at least one Personal Best.  The future bodes well for swimming at Tauranga Boys’ College, and all we need now is a 50m pool to train in.

Seven members of the TBC senior underwater hockey team played for the Mid Northern U18 team in the recent interzone National Championships in Wellington over Labour Weekend.

After dominating all the other teams during pool play, the boys faced a tough Northern zone team in the final. The Northern zone team had won the past 3 years and in an exciting final with the winning goal scored in the last 10 seconds, the Mid northern team came out victorious. Having so many of our boys, including captain and vice captain, in this representative team further demonstrates the strength of underwater hockey at Tauranga Boys College. If that wasn't impressive enough, all seven have made New Zealand teams. Well done boys!

Link to video of the final televised on Sky Sport Next channel: https://youtu.be/f4zEWjY23q0

The NZ Secondary School Athletics Champs will be held in Tauranga on Friday 11 December through to Sunday 13 December.  They are looking for people williing to help in a range of different roles supporting our officials and helping to ensure Tauranga puts on an excellent event.  If you can give one whole day, they will reward you with an event T-shirt, hat and lunch as thanks for your help!

If you can assist, please contact Ruth Tuiraviravi on 021 0404 879 or email ruth@mayoandcaler.com

SCHOOL SICKBAY
 

If your student feels unwell or has an injury whilst at school, they need to report to the Sick Bay
BEFORE phoning home.

They will be provided with First Aid or attended to by the School Nurse. 
Parents / caregivers will be contacted if necessary.

Thank you for your assistance with this.

ARE YOUR CAREGIVER EMAIL AND
CONTACT DETAILS UP TO DATE?
 

The Parent Portal dashboard now has a DETAILS tab.
Please ensure that all details are up-to-date and submit any changes for approval.
You will need to contact the school office directly at tbc@tbc.school.nz to change any additional information (including medical details).

For help accessing the Parent Portal please email r.scott@tbc.school.nz