The Owaka Memorial Community Centre was filled once again as parents, caregivers, grandparents, and our wider community filled the hall for our 2026 Prizegiving on Monday the 7th of  December. After the introduction and speech from our Principal Glenys Hanley, our itinerant music team hit the stage with two energetic numbers, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “I’m On My Way”. Presiding Chair Kerri Nakajima then talked and gave some great oyster advice - you have to work hard to find the pearl!

Junior classes were first to receive their TCAS awards for Tenacity, Care, Achievement, and Service. Thanks to another hugely successful Scholastic Book Fair, every junior student also headed home with a brand-new book. Years 7–13 followed with awards for Tenacity and Achievement in each subject, along with the student-chosen Care awards at every year level. 

Our Kapa Haka rōpū once again delivered a powerful, emotional performance that brought both goosebumps and the occasional tear.

Cultural awards, the coveted Interhouse Shield (Go Nora!), sports awards, special academic honours, and leadership and citizenship awards were presented by our teachers, our Principal Glenys Hanley, Mayor Jock Martin, Councillor Dane Catherwood and Presiding Member Kerri Nakajima. Outgoing head students Jethro Melville and Amelia Morrison officially passed the mantle to our 2026 leaders, Laine Tyrell and Kaiyo Nakajima.

We also acknowledged our Year 13 leavers Jethro Melville, Amelia Morrison, Portia Chambers and John Mission who took the stage for their final citations and were each presented with a gift from Home and School.

To wrap up the evening, the junior classes lit up the stage with their Christmas mash-up performance, complete with a walk of honour for our Year 13s. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate another fantastic year at TCAS. Here’s to even more success and shared achievements in 2026!

A list of all the prizes can be found here: 2025 Prizegiving