Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - Term 4 Week 5 2026

Manutaki Awards

The following ākonga were recognised by their Manutaki for having received an outstanding Weekly Excellence Review.  

We celebrate these ākonga/students being more fully alive and reflecting the greater glory of God through their work and actions.

Week 4

Year 7 - Stella McAlister

Year 8 - Isabel Maynard

Year 9 - Kitione Koaneti

Year 10 - Breonna Johnson

 485 Award

Each week our students have the opportunity to nominate each other when they find God in small moments during the school day. Students who exemplify our school values, and use them in every day life, are nominated to win a tuck shop voucher.

Francesca Sta Ana nominated Emmalyn Maddren for Compassion when she helped to fix her laptop when she didn’t know what to do and for making me smile. 

Ella Simcox-Castro nominated Ashlyn Ephrem for Conscience and for always being positive and sharing her lunch when I didn’t have enough. 

Claudia Keown nominated Stella McAlister for Compassion. She always helps people and shares her stuff when they need it.

Lucinda French nominated Savvy Elliott for Compassion and for including others and being kind to everyone. 

Ella O’Meara nominated Zara Buckley for Compassion. She let her borrow a pencil for her examination. 

The winning nomination this week was:

Lara Simcox-Castro nominated Claudia Keown for Compassion. She helped her look for her list item instead of hanging out with her friends.

Otago University Junior Math Competition

This year, nearly 6000 students from 129 schools sat the first round of the Otago University Junior Math Competition. Students with top placings were invited into the second round where explaining your mathematical reasoning is key. We had a number of students perform very well in this challenging competition. 

The following students achieved Merit which is the top 50% nationwide:

Haeun Park and Kees Smith

These students achieved Distinction which is the top 15%:

Alex Al-Haddad, Torito Esquivel Garcia, Andy Nguyen, Samuel Speedy, and Simon Vicente

Kiwi English Spelling Bee

Congratulations to students who took part in the Kiwi English Spelling Bee, a nationwide competition run by the Centre for Assessment and Monitoring (CAM) at the University of Canterbury. The competition challenges students' spelling, vocabulary, and language skills against students from schools across New Zealand.

Merit Awards

A Merit award means these students performed in the top 25% of participants nationally. This is an excellent achievement and reflects a high level of skill, effort, and commitment. When I read your name, please come forward to receive your certificate.

Eva Abin

Saige Alderton

Leanne Domingo 

Jonny Eyton-Fa’afiu

Elijah Biso

Tessa Hartland

Abel Mony

Mia Yandall

Excellence Awards

An Excellence award places these students in the top 10% of participants across New Zealand. Achieving Excellence is a truly outstanding accomplishment and highlights exceptional spelling ability and academic excellence. When I read your name, please come forward to receive your certificate.

Zara Briggs

Elizabeth Wong

Matthew Nguyen 

Marius Christof Vicente

Theo Nieuwenhuijsen