Senior Prize Giving

A Time for Sadness and Reflection

It is with heavy hearts that we share news of the tragic passing of two of our former students, Memphis Strachan and Vicky-May Davies, both 20 years old, who recently died in a car crash near Whangarei. Both Memphis and Vicky-May were larger than life characters who maintained strong connections with many staff and students in our Mana whānau.

This past Friday, we celebrated Memphis's life with his whānau, friends, and community at his funeral in Wainuiomata. So many beautiful stories were told about such a loving, caring young man who brought a smile to all around him. We will be supporting Vicky May and her whānau on Tuesday at her tangi in Whenua Tapu.

May you rest in peace, Vicky May and Memphis. You'll always be remembered by our Mana whānau.

Important Update: Industrial Action

As you'll be aware, a full-day Teacher and Support Staff strike took place on Thursday last week. Please be aware that there is likely to be more industrial action from the teacher and support staff unions in the coming weeks. We will inform you as soon as possible of any 'rostering home', full/half-day strikes, or any other strike action. Please monitor your emails and the school website for these important updates.

Celebrating Mana College Success and Talent

Wow! So much celebration and showcasing of the incredible talent we have at Mana College has taken place over the last two weeks!

Senior Prizegiving: A Night of Excellence

On Wednesday night this week, we held our Senior Prizegiving. This was a hugely successful night where the warmth, diversity, and talent of our Mana students shone brightly. We are once again grateful for the generosity of our community, alumni, iwi, city council, local trusts, tertiary institutions, and business owners. Their support resulted in multiple scholarships worth thousands of dollars being awarded to worthy recipients.

Our biggest congratulations go out to all of the prizewinners on the night, and in particular to Sethini Goonewardene who was named our 2025 Dux of the school.

Head Students 

At the prizegiving we acknowledged our 2025 Head students for their leadership, dedication and service to Mana where amongst other awards Flora Chen Pao received the McKenzie Cup, Pacey Hall the RSA Cup, and Sethini Goonewardene the Porirua City Cup.  Thank you Flora, Pacey and Sethini for being such outstanding role models and ambassadors for our students and school.

And the future is bright! We proudly announced our Head Students for 2026: Clayton Lee, Madison Lee, Alexi MacCormick, and Louis Gregory. Congratulations to you all.  We’re looking forward to working with you next year and to see what the future holds under your leadership.

Inaugural Green & Gold Awards Success

One week ago, our inaugural Green & Gold Awards was a massive success. This year, we decided to combine our traditional Sports awards evening with other various endeavours to celebrate the success and achievement of our ākonga beyond the classroom. We recognised and celebrated our rangatahi across sporting, cultural, theatrical, and other community based disciplines. The huge turn out, with people watching from outside the hall, was another heart warming and a beautiful celebration of the diversity and broad range of skills and talents that our ākonga have. 

Our biggest congratulations go out to all of the prizewinners on the night, and in particular to PJ Manilla who was named our inaugural 2025 Supreme winner.

Senior Student Art Exhibition

On Friday evening, we hosted a senior student art exhibition in our Te Urukahika block, attended by parents, whānau, board members, present and ex-staff.  It was awesome to see recent Mana graduates come back and support their younger counterparts.  Cam Culver-Dickens won an award for the best design at the Moana Road Senior Student workshop. It was yet another delightful celebration of the talent and skills our ākonga have at our kura.  

Community and Governance

New Board Members

On Tuesday, we held our very first board meeting for the next triennial cycle. We warmly welcomed our new parent elect, Kaela Harrison, and our new student representative, Tane Mill. It was an encouraging meeting where both Kaela and Tane provided fresh new perspectives.

Year 9 He Wawata Nui: Dream Big Event

On Wednesday last week, our entire Year 9 cohort and their toka went to Te Rauparaha Arena for He Wawata Nui: Dream Big - Achieve Bigger. This event was designed to inspire rangatahi Māori and Pasifika to dream bigger, reach higher, and see themselves in future-focused careers including space, engineering, AI, and creative tech. It was a very successful day that sparked some fantastic interest for our ākonga into the world of technology.

Dates and Reminders

Please note these important upcoming dates for November and December:

If you have Year 11-13 students in your household, please wish them my best for their exams in the coming few weeks.

Nga mihi nui,

Jeff Chapman

Tumuaki, Kāreti o Mana