TGS PTA Golf Day - Thursday 5th November
The Takapuna Grammar School PTA is staging its 15th annual Golf Day on Thursday, 5th November 2020 from 12 midday. This is the highlight of the PTA annual calendar, attracting interest and participation from a range of teams and individuals, including staff and students from TGS. Funds raised from the Golf Day have been used to subsidise and support a wide range of school projects and...
> Read moreGold Service Award for our TIC of Hockey Sylvia Breen
Hockey New Zealand have announced the recipients of their Gold Service Awards. These recipients have contributed more than 25 years of service to hockey. Our very own TIC of Hockey and TGS staff member Sylvia Breen is among the recipients for this round! "Sylvia Breen has dedicated her life to giving back to Hockey. In 2016, Sylvia formed a...
> Read moreMain Building Re-Opening Ceremony
The sun came out to shine down on our sparkling new main building on Friday 16th October with some familiar faces from the past joining us for the formalities. Former Head Boy and Dux Sir Stephen Tindall performed the honours of cutting the ribbon before Mrs Nixon welcomed everyone in for private tours of the entire main block from our Prefects, followed by afternoon tea in the staffroom....
> Read more2020 Merit Badge Award Winners
On Thursday 15th October we held our Merit Badge assembly, this years winners were: GOLD MERIT Ella Cronshaw - Cricket, Football, Waterpolo, Peer TeamColette Morrison - Arts Council, Leonessa and TGS Chorale, Hockey, Peer TeamLaiba Batool - Journalism Club, Amnesty International Leader, Peer Team, Premier Advanced DebatingArabella Chapman - Debating, Hockey, Peer Team,...
> Read more2020 IB Prizegiving Award Winners
The International Baccalaureate Prize Giving for Year 13 students was held in the Takapuna Grammar School library on Tuesday afternoon and was well attended by IB students, parents, staff and the Senior Leadership team. The prizes were presented by Mrs Nixon and the winners are to be congratulated for their diligence and efforts over the last two years. The Jackie Rogers Cup for Excellence in...
> Read moreRotary National Science and Technology Forum
Congratulations to Year 12 students Andrew Crotty, Mayzie Mortimer and Chris Williams who have all been selected to take part in the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum to be held over the summer break. These top Science students have been selected from students around the country to take part in the two week program. The forum is run by Auckland University with...
> Read more2020 NCEA Senior Exams
The Senior School NCEA exams will take place from 16th November to 9th December. It is important all students have an appropriate study routine in place for the exams. This should include students revising what they do and don’t know in each of their subjects. Students should experiment with study techniques to find out what works best for them. Research would indicate an...
> Read moreTakapuna Grammar Junior Conference 2020
Takapuna Grammar School’s junior cohort departed from their regular scheduled timetables to partake in an extensive two day junior conference at the end of term. Students enjoyed watching a number of high profile guest speakers including Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford, Dr Sarah Watson, Kevin Biggar and Richie Hardcore present on a range of interesting topics. Throughout the...
> Read moreIB Art Exhibition reaches towering heights
September saw the annual IB Art Exhibition which is the culmination of nearly two years of work for Visual Art students. Students have to display their artworks in a gallery setting and are marked on how they present their work, curatorial rationale, as well as the quality of their work. This year the exhibition was held in the historic Tower Room which has been beautifully renovated in the...
> Read moreFormer pupils Sam Fraser and Kauri Finlay excelling with their Art
Big congratulations to former pupils Sam Fraser and Kauri Finlay who have been selected as finalists in the 2020 Best Design awards (from The Designers Institute of NZ). Both students studied Art Design here at Takapuna Grammar School. Sam also studied Art History and Kauri did Paint as well. Check out the work here:...
> Read moreStudent BOT Representative elected - Emma Mason
Congratulation to Year 12 Emma Mason who has been elected by her peers as the new student Board of Trustee Student Representative. Here is Emma's pitch to her fellow students pre-election: "Hi, my name is Emma Mason and I would love the opportunity to present to you, as your student representative, on the Board of Trustees. I have committed myself to a broad range of school life,...
> Read morePrefects for 2021 announced
The Takapuna Grammar Senior Leadership Team is proud to announce the elected Prefects for 2021 are: Congratulations on this wonderful honour and we look forward to working close with you in the coming year!
> Read moreMore Poetry Success for Pippi Duncan!
Our talented Year 13 writer, Pippi Duncan, has had yet more amazing success. She came first in the Year 13 division of the Poetry NZ Yearbook competition and had a poem published in the latest edition of the online NZ literary journal, Starling. Her winning poems were... For more information about her success, go to:...
> Read moreIB Students deliver Critical Thinking Workshops
As a part of our International Baccalaureate Diploma, all students are required to participate in a range of activities, sports and co-curriculars in order to become more well rounded learners. This part of the diploma is called CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service). As part of their Service, this year all IB1 students delivered a Critical Thinking workshops to our Year 11 students, where...
> Read more2020 Examination Timetables
The 2020 Senior School exams will take place from Monday 14 to Wednesday 23 September. These exams are designed to prepare students for the NZQA and International Baccalaureate exams in Term 4. The exams are formal and the results may be used for students who apply for derived grades in November.Please see timetables below or if having trouble viewing, click here for PDF version....
> Read moreLatest Update: Covid-19 Alert L3 - Letter to Parents, Caregivers (27/08)
Dear parents and whanau, Thank you for supporting our students over the last two weeks as we all navigated the return to Alert Level 3. They made a swift change of direction to remote programme learning and most have stayed engaged and on track. Seniors are well placed in the build-up to the TGS examinations in Week 9 and 10. They need their teachers and you to continue to guide and...
> Read moreCovid-19 Alert L3 - Letter to Parents, Caregivers (20/08)
Dear parents and whanau, I am sending you an update as the TGS Level 3 Alert plan evolves to keep you in the loop with what teachers and students are doing. The plan will be adapted if the Alert Level changes and I will let you know as soon as any adjustments are made. TGS staff and students are well prepared and we can adapt quickly when we need to. We are endeavouring to keep you up to...
> Read moreCovid-19 Alert L3 - Letter to Parents, Caregivers (18/08)
Dear parents and whanau, The Secretary for Education has advised last evening (Monday 17.08) that the government has agreed to some flexibility for schools to allow certain Year 12 and 13 students to attend school at times under Alert Level 3. This is a sudden, significant change as students in Years 11-13 have not previously been able to attend school at Alert Level 3. There are...
> Read moreLatest Update: Covid-19 Alert L3 - Letter to Parents, Caregivers (14/08)
Dear parents and whanau, I want to give you an update before the weekend about next steps for staff and students at TGS. Thank you for supporting our students in following the plans outlined for the return to remote learning programmes. The initial advice from the Prime Minister was that Auckland would be at Alert Level 3 for three days. Now it is apparent the COVID-19 situation...
> Read moreCovid-19 Alert L3 FAQs Letter to Parents, Caregivers (12/08)
Dear parents and whanau, These certainly are extraordinary times. We are fortunate to live in a caring and connected community and we are well prepared to navigate successfully through any challenges that lie ahead. I trust we will all offer and ask for any support that is needed to advantage our students to succeed academically and in all areas of their lives over the coming weeks. I...
> Read moreCovid-19 Alert L3: Letter to Parents, Caregivers (11/08)
Dear parents, students and whanau, Many of you will have heard the announcement made by the Prime Minister on Tuesday (11.08) evening that Auckland is returning to COVID-19 Level 3 Alert from midday Wednesday 12 August. Everyone is asked to stay home from work and school from Wednesday morning unless they are essential workers or students of...
> Read moreLetter from the Principal 07.08.20
Dear Parents & Caregivers, Term 3 is now well underway. This is the business end of the year with students preparing to peak in their learning and achievement. It is a very busy time with assessments, practice examinations, career applications and subject selections for 2021. Winter activities are in full swing so the school is a hive of activity from early morning until late in...
> Read moreGiselle den Breems wins Weta Workshop arts award
Congratulations to Year 10 Giselle den Breems who was a finalist and won a Rising Stars Highly Commended Arts Award, selected by a Weta Workshop panel led by director Paul Tobin and voted by the public. The school is very proud of this achievement, especially her proud art teachers! Well done Giselle! To read more about this and other winners, click here.
> Read moreAuckland University Engineering Challenge
On Saturday a group of our top Physics students took part in the annual Auckland University Engineering Challenge. This was also used as an opportunity for all of our IB students to complete their Group 4 project where students from a range of subjects collaborate to solve a given problem and present their findings. This year's question was: "How many satellites can be...
> Read moreSascha Letica wins lockdown poetry competition
On behalf of everyone here at TGS and the Poetry In Action organisation, we would like to congratulate Sascha Letica on being the recent winner of their lockdown poetry entry competition! They were blown away by receiving hundreds of poem submissions from students across Australia, New Zealand and the United States and said "Sascha's poem really stood out to us. We were so impressed...
> Read moreMassey University Molecular Field Trip Day
A group of our Year 13 Biology students spent the day at Massey University last Friday. They were taking part in a Molecular Biology workshop run by the Science Faculty. The students got hands-on experience using modern tools and techniques and gained insight into the research and development the University is currently involved in. A fantastic learning experience for our students and...
> Read morePōwhiri for HOD Maori - Ms Tina Peters
Takapuna Grammar School welcomed our new HOF of Te Reo Māori - Ms Tina Peters with a traditional Pōwhiri last week. The Powhiri was a belated welcome for Ms Peters into the Takapuna Grammar school whanau due to Covid 19. It was a very special and emotional occasion to have Ms Peters whānau and previous school Carmel College join us at the pōwhiri. A powerful Haka performed by Prefects and...
> Read moreTakapuna Grammar School celebrates Matariki
Matariki Atua ka eke mai i te rangi roa, ē Whāingainga iho ki te mata o te tau roa, ē Students, whānau and teachers gathered early Wednesday morning to acknowledge and celebrate Matariki 2020. The morning involved karakia, student presentations on the Ngā mata o te Ariki cluster followed by waiata with students and whanau. A big thank you to all the staff and students, our...
> Read moreMcAlpine's Lookout gets its first look over
The newly handed over Year 13 common room will be known as 'McAlpine's Lookout' for the 2020 year. This name was chosen by the Prefects and their Year 13 cohort for a space to relax and work in a quiet corner of the school. It looks straight over the TGS#1 cricket pitch facing north and Rangitoto Island and was a place Ian was always busy preparing the field, mentoring students and slowly...
> Read moreIB Dipoma - C.A.S. Creativity, Activity and Service
As a part of the IB diploma, all students are pushed to participate in a range of activities, sports and co-curriculars in order to become more well rounded learners. This part of the diploma is called CAS, Creativity, Activity and Service. As a first year IB student myself I found the idea of completing 150 hours of co-curricular activities over the 2 year cause a very intimidating idea....
> Read moreIB Students volunteer at Battle of the Schools
Creativity, activity and service (CAS) are the three essential components that every IB student must complete as part of the IB course. IB (International Baccalaureate) is an educational program established by the Swiss. The first CAS experience which we participated in was Battle of the Schools. This predominantly counted as Service due to the nature of the work which we were doing,...
> Read moreRecollect TGS History website launched
New Recollect TGS site: https://takapuna.recollect.co.nz/ TGS was founded in 1927. Our goal is to have every yearbook, class and sports team photo and records of key events preserved digitally. Anyone can come and find content and photos from their school days and can also submit photos they have from their school days to create an historic content hub for all to enjoy. So dig up...
> Read moreBlake NZ brings Virtual Reality to Year 9 Science Students
This week our Year 9s took part in a Virtual Reality Workshop run by Blake NZ. The virtual reality videos highlighted the impact that humans are having on marine ecosystems around New Zealand. The students looked at footage from The Three Kings, The Poor Knights and Mokohinau Islands and compared this with some of our polluted harbours and overfished regions of the Hauraki Gulf. The workshops...
> Read moreWriting success for Daniel Twine
Daniel Twine in year 9 has won the 13-18 year old category of the Paradox Books Lockdown Writing Competition. His poem on the theme "In ten years time" wins him a $50 Paradox books voucher and will be published in the Devonport Flagstaff. We commend Daniel for his success and look forward to seeing more of his writing in the future. In ten years time,The trees will still...
> Read moreFlashback: Korean Senior Gala Party - CAS Experience
"In the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme, exists a vital core component named “Creativity, Activity, and Service” where the purpose of it is for students to have co-curricular activities alongside their daily schedules, to be engaged in the community and develop skills and face challenges outside of class, which is one of the goals that the IB aims for - being a...
> Read moreLatest Letter to Parents & Caregivers (22.05.20)
See below the latest communication letter (22.05.20) to Parents & Caregivers from Mrs Nixon or click here to read in pdf form.
> Read moreFormer pupil Emily Fan to interview Helen Clarke online
Emily Fan graduated from TGS Class of 2017 and has recently finished up her second year at Harvard University. She is currently preparing to co-host a virtual fireside conversation with Helen Clark next Saturday the 30th May at 10:30AM NZT (please see flyer below). We would like to support Emily in her ongoing tertiary studies and thought this might be something of interest to the wider...
> Read moreCovid-19: Latest Update (13/05/20)
Please find below the link to the latest information sent to parents and caregivers. Newsletter 13.5.2020 Warm Regards Mary NixonPrincipalTGS
> Read moreLes Miserables makes the TVNZ News!
Known for our TGS school productions that bring the community together, we were excited to round out the TVNZ News over the weekend representing the cancellation of school performances during this unique time in history and share excerpts from our cancelled 2020 school show Les Miserables! Click the link here to view the TVNZ News story...
> Read moreEmergency Contact during the school closed period
If you urgently need to contact anyone from the Senior Leadership Team during the school closed period, Deputy Principal Brian Wynn can be reached via email on [email protected] or on mobile 021502685.
> Read more