Our Board is responsible for:
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Setting the school’s strategic direction in consultation with the community, parents, whānau, staff, students and the wider school community
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Developing policies, procedures, and bylaws to ensure the school meets its legal obligations
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Monitoring and evaluating student learning outcomes
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Overseeing the management of personnel, curriculum, property, finance, and health and safety
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Being a good employer of all staff in the school
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Reporting on the school’s progress to the community and the Ministry.
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The principal oversees the day-to-day management of the school and follows the direction of the board to make sure the school’s goals are met.
Fleur Auber
Chair
After growing up in Auckland and then travelling overseas, Fleur settled in Warkworth with her husband Dan 14 years ago. They currently have 3 children at Mahurangi College. Fleur has 23 years experience as an accountant in public sector and non-profit organisations in the UK and NZ, as well as previous Board experience within national and local charities. She is passionate about providing a safe and secure school environment for every student, as well as ensuring the school is "fit for the future."
Nicole Callender
Board Member
Nicole comes from a farming background and has lived in the Warkworth/Wellsford area for most of her life. She currently has two daughters attending Mahurangi College and a son currently in Year 5 at Warkworth School. She has been a past BOT member at the school and has been employed at Warkworth School in some sort of teaching capacity for 21 years. Nicole brings to the Board a deep knowledge of the history of the education in our community and strong community relationships.
Tony Giles
Principal
Tony has had 30 years in education, including co-ed, single-sex, state and integrated schools. He is "now privileged to lead this aspirational, achievement-focussed school. We strive to provide a rich and challenging curriculum for each and every student, coupled with extensive pastoral support to ensure that all students thrive and exceed their expectations. "Every day at Mahu is exciting, and I look forward to building amazing futures for our students."
Mathew Raffills
Board Member
After leaving high school Mat joined the Royal NZ Air Force, serving as an Officer and a pilot, flying P3 Orions and Boeing 757s. He also spent time as the course director of Officer Training with a focus on teaching command, leadership and management to Officer Cadets. He now flies Boeing 787s for Air NZ. Mat is married to Monique and has three kids, one of which is at Mahurangi, with another starting in 2025. Mat wants to ensure the school remains focused on education, creating a safe environment for all students, and equipping our kids for the best possible future.
Tom Bartlett
Board Member
Bio to follow.
Kim McKergow
Board Member
Kim comes from a background in IT, business analysis, and project management, driven by a passion for improvement, efficiency, effective communication, and overall wellbeing. After living abroad and in Auckland, Kim and her husband, Gus, returned to their roots in the Rodney area, settling in Big Omaha, where their two children attend Mahurangi College. Deeply connected to the community, Kim values community service as a core principle.
Her vision for Mahurangi College is to help cultivate an ever-improving environment across the school, focusing on enhancing the wellbeing of students and staff by fostering stronger connections — whakawhanaungatanga — within the school and with the wider community, creating a place where everyone can thrive.
Kim values feedback and warmly invites members of the community to share their thoughts and ideas. Whether you see her at school events or around the community, she’s always open to a friendly conversation about how to make Mahurangi College even better.
Nyree Norrington
Staff Representative
Nyree has served for several terms as our Staff Representative. In her 17 years as Head of the Faculty of Arts, Nyree works closely with staff across all departments, fostering strong connections and gaining a comprehensive understanding of our culture and operations; giving her the ability to address individual and collective concerns. She has the unique perspective of being both a teacher and a parent; raising two children—one a former student and the other currently in Year 7—has given her insight into the school experience from multiple viewpoints. "Serving on the Board is a role I hold with deep respect and responsibility. I am dedicated to ensuring that our whānau and community continue to thrive as we build on the ongoing success of Mahurangi College."
Maiya Johns
Student Representative
We warmly welcome Maiya Johns, our student representative to the Board of Trustees. Maiya has attended Mahurangi since Year 7. She joined the Board to learn more about the education system and help change the school for the better. She would like to "help give students a voice, and let their ideas shape the school". Her objective is to improve day-to-day life as a student at Mahurangi, and ensure students are able to feel like a part of the Mahu culture.
Our Vision
To Challenge
We ask our students to dream big, to take risks, to be curious, determined and resilient.
Our expectations are that we develop students who can achieve great results and to work alongside parents and whānau to help shape well-balanced, young adults with a strong sense of who they are and where they come from.
We challenge all our students to look up, imagine and reach for their stars.
To Excel
Excelling is a habit. We encourage excellence in all areas of school life and take pride in celebrating our many successes – on the sports field, in the arts and in the unique and exciting ways our students think and express themselves in the 21st century.
Most importantly we are proud of our recent strong academic successes. We have seen six years of consecutive improvements in our NCEA results; we are well above the national averages and are on track to becoming the top academic decile 7 school in the country.
To Belong
The Mahurangi area is one of the most remarkable in New Zealand. It’s a community with a rural heart on the doorstep of a great city, tied together by the wonderful area we live in and the incredible diversity and life balance we have.
We’re a community that aims to pass all this onto our children so that they can grow into the finest, well-balanced men and women they can be. It is unique, it is amazing and it is ‘Our Place’.
Our Place, Our Values
At Our Place, Mahurangi College, we encourage, model and learn about a set of values that we believe are important for young people.
P
Pursuing Excellence
Whāia te iti kahurangi
R
Respect
Manaakitanga
I
Innovative & Curious
Ako
D
Determined & Resilient
Manawaroa
E
Empathy & Kindness
Atawhai
Pursuing Excellence
Whāia te iti kahurangi
Identifying our unique abilities and strengths and building on these to encourage each person to give and achieve their best; resources tailored to fit individuals; each person plays an important role in achieving excellence and in supporting others. Pursuit becomes a life-long journey.
Respect
Manaakitanga
Respect ourselves first, then follows respecting others and place. Believe in your unique value and importance; respect the opinions, values and morals of others; show understanding of each others challenges, backgrounds and experiences; take ownership of our place and our resources.
Innovative & Curious
Ako
Curiosity and innovation need to be role modelled. Teachers need to find new ways to demonstrate, teach and explain every day. They need to be open to student ideas; be willing and able to support those ideas; teach beyond the criteria; create opportunities; make resources available. But most of all they need passion and enthusiasm.
Determined & Resilient
Manawaroa
To be challenged, to have the courage to take risks, to be brave, determined and resilient; to have meaning our learning needs to be linked to the real world and be experienced in a variety of environments with a variety of people.
Empathy & Kindness
Atawhai
Each one of us has unique learning needs; however our individual physical, mental, emotional and social well-being must be valued and nurtured before life-long learning can take place. It begins with caring, noticing, listening and understanding.
