CO-TUMUAKI KŌRERO

Tēnā koutou i te whānau,

Pacy is how we describe life at TIPENE! Events both on and off site keep us all very busy. Opportunities and exposure remain a common theme, where tauira are provided with varied and significant events to engage the body, mind and spirit.

The upcoming CAA’s are another opportunity to challenge tauira and we are pleased to have 28 sitting this mid September. In the current climate where education as a system is facing much turmoil, we are reminded daily that with focussed effort, we can make a difference for each and every child.

Winter sporting code commitments are shifting from club to representative levels whilst the summer codes are planning for their starts in preparation for November and December events ahead.

PANUI

GOVERNANCE Boards

E ngā mātua, e ngā Kaitiaki o a tātou tama o Tipene, tēnā tātou katoa.

Tēnā rā koutou katoa. Me pēnei te kōrero, tukuna rātou kia okioki i runga i te moengaroa. Āpiti hono, tātai hono, ko te akaaka o te rangi ki a rātou, āpiti hono, tātai hono, ko te akaaka o te whenua ki a tātou te hunga ora. Kei aku rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I hope this finds you all well. There are a few matters I wanted to place in front of you regarding some matters to do with your Te Tuara Trust or our Board of Trustees. Firstly for clarity, there are two key partners involved with our Kura.

We are located on land administered by the St Stephens & Queen Victoria Schools’ Trust (SSQVST). They own the buildings and houses at our site and provide all of these for the use of Tipene. We lease parts of the full property.

This Trust is affiliated to the Anglican Church and are responsible for the overall building project and Whitiora compliance. Their role is to provide TTT with facilities that are compliant and can be used as we see fit.

Te Tuara Trust (TTT) is the governing body (Charter School Sponsor) for TIPENE. Our role is to have the overview of the operations of TIPENE as a charter school. TTT has dual levels of responsibility for the operations of Whitiora (hostel) with SSQVST.

Our Board meet monthly where we get updates from our Tumuaki on aspects of our Kura such as academic progress of our tauira, achievements, risks, health and safety, agencies matters and any property issues. TTT have been working hard since the start of the year with the Trust Board to consider the facilities we have available for our tauira.

Whānau Representative on Te Tuara Trust

The TTT Board can confirm that the decision to appoint a whānau representative to the Board was approved on Thursday August 21st. The Board wishes to take expressions of interest for such a position. There are a few matters we need to make clear:

This is to be a Board appointment and no election will take place.
The person will be a full Board member and will be appointed for a TWO year period. The successful applicant can reapply to remain with the Board.
The Board will appoint the person against a skills matrix where the applicants set out the skills they bring. This is to ensure that we have a spread of skills on the Board as well as focus on areas we might need expertise in.

If this role is of interest to you, we welcome receiving a brief CV with a summary of skills using the Skills Matrix documents linked here. Submissions close on Friday September 19th. Please email your submission directly to our Chairperson: teururoa.flavell@gmail.com.

Whānau meet the TE TUARA TRUST Hui by ZOOM.

Monday September 15, 7.30-8.30pm.

Our Board recognises that our Tumuaki and staff have regular meetings with you all regarding progress of our tama. We also recognise the need to update you on progress at a Board level and allow for your voices to be heard.

We intend to do this with a few hui during the year starting with a hui on Monday September 15 from 7.30-8.30pm. We would like to extend an invitation to all whānau to log in and meet the Trustees, ask any pātai and share in the vision of TIPENE.

We do want to focus on key issues you wish to raise and ask that you provide any questions prior to the hui using the link provided. We will try this format for our first meeting and reassess from there.

We look forward to touching base then. Ka whai wāhi tātou ki a tātou anō ātaihoa ake nei. Mā te wāhi ngaro tātou e manaaki. Noho ora mai.

Nāku noa,

Te Ururoa

Tiamana

CAA EXAMINATIONS - September 11 & 12

We are preparing 27 of our Year 9 & 10 tauira for the upcoming CAA (Common Achievement Assessment) Examinations. These are corequisites for NCEA Level 1.

TIPENE at the ‘AUT Hackathon’ - August 22 & 23

Congratulations to Aorangi, Carter, Kauri & Tōmai for participating in the recent Hackathon. This event was designed to …. The TIPENE team placed 2nd overall, and won the ‘Peoples Choice’ Award for their whare tapawha inspired wellness app called ‘

TIPENE Whānau Fundraising Rōpu: AB’s Raffle - September 6

Congratulations to Lisa Kerr-Davis for winning the All Blacks experience raffle. Two tickets to the upcoming match All Blacks vs South Africa, September 6. The experience includes attendance at the Captain Run - the morning of the test.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the raffle and to the NZ Rugby Union for their generous prize.

TIPENE Sports Camp - Sunday & Monday August 17 & 18

He mihi maioha tēnei ki ngā ringa raupā katoa i tautoko i te kaupapa nei – ngā whānau, ngā kaitautoko pūtea, ngā manuhiri kōrero me ngā kaiako hākinakina. Nā koutou i whakakaha, i whakarangatira hoki i te hui nui nei mō ā tātou rangatahi.

Building Pathways – Strengthening Identity – Creating Friendships

The 2025 TIPENE Sports Camp was an unforgettable weekend of learning, inspiration, and brotherhood. Central to the kaupapa was providing opportunities for rangatahi from the far reaches of our small communities — ensuring that every young person, no matter where they come from, can see and experience the pathways available in sport and in life.

Our boys were privileged to hear from some of Aotearoa’s greatest sporting legends, who shared their knowledge, skills, and personal journeys.

TIPENE Arts Wānanga - Sunday August 23

On the 23rd of August, our tama were fortunate to take part in a special Toi Māori wānanga – a day rich in mātauranga, creativity, and cultural reconnection.

We welcomed three incredible Toi Māori practitioners who generously shared their skills, stories, and wisdom with our tauira.

One of our own, Arekatera Maihi (aka Katz), who regularly teaches music here at school, returned in a different capacity – this time as a carver and cultural practitioner. He not only demonstrated his artistic talent, but also shared an important life lesson: that true fulfilment doesn't come from chasing money, but from finding work that serves the needs of our people. He spoke of carving as a lost art within his community – one he felt called to revive and reclaim as part of a cultural renaissance.

Stu McDonald, a former First XV captain and rugby star here at Tipene, returned to share his journey – not just as an athlete, but also as an artist. He spoke deeply about the importance of living with purpose, and using one’s gifts to uplift whānau, hapū and community.

We were also honoured to welcome Maraea Timutimu, daughter of Charlie and Ngareta, who has returned after many years to give back to her roots. She guided the students in creating paints from whenua, integrating this practice into the foundations of their artwork – literally grounding their creativity in the stories of the land.

This wānanga was more than just an art workshop — it was a powerful reclamation of knowledge, identity, and purpose. We’re grateful to these tohunga for sharing their time and their hearts with our tauira.

Follow our @TIPENE_arts page on Instagram to see more photos from the wananga and to keep up to date with what's happening at TIPENE.

TIPENE Union & League (Whangārei Festival & NZSS U15 League)

Our recent tour to Northland saw us proudly compete in the Whangārei Under 15 Tournament, hosted at Horahora Rugby Club where we were warmly welcomed by many of our Old Boys. A big mihi to Rob Rush and Mark Wilson for their generous support throughout our stay, and special thanks to Di Akurangi and Kimiora Corness for their ongoing commitment to our kaupapa.

On the field, we secured strong wins against Whangārei BHS and Kerikeri HS, earning us a place in the final against King’s College – the 2025 Auckland Champions. After a courageous first half, locked at 12-all, we were unable to sustain our momentum and eventually went down 42–12.

Moving forward, it is important that we continue to seek out more games of this level to help grow and develop our athletes.

2026 TIPENE CONFIRMATION OF INTENT

Thank you to those who have already completed this form.

We are very aware that you have choices and that situations change. To ensure our accurate planning, can you please click the link to confirm your son's intentions for 2026.

Please note that a question pertaining to SSQV $5,000 Scholarships is included also. Thank you in advance for the completion of this form by September 9, 2025.

TIPENE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTER STATUS

We have been granted Charter School Distinguishing Character status which is reflected by the unique nature of TIPENE as described in the TIPENE Ahuatanga Policy. This is critical in maintaining the kaupapa for now and in the future. With a small roll it is an expectation that all tauira engage fully in all aspects of the kaupapa.

TIPENE ORIENTATION CAMP - Saturday & Sunday September 13-14

Applicants for the 2026 intake will be in attendance for the Orientation Camp on Saturday and Sunday September 13 & 14. We currently have 48 applications for 2026 who will be in attendance.

Included here is the Draft Programme for the day. At this stage we can fit all of our tauira and applicants in Whitiora. If this changes, I will come back to you with Plan B, which may require us to send some local tauira on ‘leave’.

TIPENE TOUCH & 7’s UNION PROGRAMMES

As we move into the Summer codes we look forward to Touch (Lead: Mita) and 7’s (Leads: Nathan & Carl) programmes getting underway from Week 8 Term 3 through to the end of Term 4.

Touch: Preparations for the Touch season will begin with training for all squads.

Our Premier Squad (18 players rotated) will compete in the Men’s competition at Steele Park, Hamilton, on Monday evenings starting 6th October (10-week competition). We are also looking into a local competition for our Development Squad, with further details to come.

To finish the year, our key tournaments include the Māori Touch Nationals (U18 Boys Grade) in Rotorua on 6–7 December, followed by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Touch Nationals in Rotorua from 11–14 December. A squad of 16 will be chosen for these two events. Click the link for more information.

7’s: This programme will be led by Nathan and Carl with specialist coaching from Brady and Rob Rush.

We will select teams to play in the local CMSS competition from which a squad of 14 will be selected to attend a mini tournament and then Condors. Touch and Rugby 7's will alternate training sessions and be complimentary with similar start up moves. We recognise that many of the players will be required across both codes. The Premier Touch and Condors 7s players will train as a group in the mornings with a key focus on anaerobic fitness. Key 7’s dates are detailed below:

Training Camp with Brady & Rob Rush (Date TBC)
Mini Tournament (Kings - Dilworth - MAG's)
Wednesday 29 October - CMSS Junior Tournament (Mixed Teams x 3)
Wednesday 12 November - CMSS Junior Tournament (Selected teams x 2)
Condor Squad selected Friday 13 November
Wednesday 19 November - CMSS Junior Tournament (Condor Squad to play against selected teams (TBC)
Thursday 27- Friday 28 November - Condor 7's, Blake Park, Mt Manganui

TERM 3 and 4 LEAVE DATES AND TIMINGS

Friday, September 19: Term 3 ends. Leave commences from 1 pm.

Sunday, October 5: Tauira return to TIPENE (between 2-5pm).

Thursday and Friday 27-28 November: Condor Sevens U15 Tournament, Mt Manganui.

Wednesday, December 5-7: Māori Touch Nationals, Rotorua.

Tuesday, December 9: Term 4 ends. Leave commences post our TIPENE Achievement Ceremony, 6.30pm start.

Wednesday, December 10-14: NZSS Touch Nationals, Rotorua.

For Leave applications: email directly to me achieves a quicker response.

Click the link for TIPENE calendar access

SEPTEMBER PANUI