Thursday 5 February 2026
Nau mai, haere mai!
A very warm welcome to you as a College community in this first Chapel Update for the year. We are absolutely delighted to welcome you all back to College, and to all our new parents and students joining us this year for the first time, it is wonderful having you join the King’s College family. Hopefully, you’re getting the opportunity to understand what we’re about.
As an Anglican Church School founded in 1896, King’s has always enjoyed a special relationship with the Anglican Church. After its inception and foundation at the Portland Road campus in Remuera, The Rev’d W Beatty was the official ‘Visitor’ appointed by the Bishop to the College. St Mark’s Remuera and St Aidan’s Remuera, were its home parishes. The establishment of the Anglican Chapel in 1925 -101 years ago in Ōtāhuhu - was deliberate, as the Board felt it important to build a Great Chapel, that would provide a place of Anglican faith and worship for all students.
We continue this today, offering a ministry that meets our students ‘where they are, but hopefully doesn’t leave them just where they are’. Our hope is that the students and families coming through our Chapel doors will experience an intelligent and thoughtful approach to faith and spirituality that connects with the things that we all hold to be important – issues of connection, justice, compassion and service.
There are two important items we wish to inform you of:
It’s a delight to announce the eighteen Senior and House Sacristans for 2026. On Day 1 of last week, everyone was excited to meet as a team and begin our work of getting to know one another and identify the responsibilities that we all carry as we represent the Chapel. It was also a privilege to have with us, representatives from the College’s Counselling team as we talked about the importance of caring for others and ensuring we show self-care. The Sacristans will be commissioned for their respective roles at their House services where they will receive their Cross-pin and Sacristan tie.
The team is as follows:
House Sacristans:
- Averill House Sacristan – Angus Wilson
- Greenbank House Sacristan – Jaedon Gin
- Major House – Will Hargrave
- Marsden House – William Johnson
- Marion Bruce House – Lilly Twort
- Middlemore House – Scarlett Morris
- Parnell House Sacristan – Izaiah Asiata
- Peart House Sacristan – Ricky Cheak
- School House – Finn James
- St John’s House – Archie McInnes
- Selwyn House – Lucas Kidd
- Taylor House – Jessie Thorsen
Senior Sacristans:
- Max Caughey – St John's
- Betty Yao – Taylor
- Ethan van Brink – Marsden
- Saffron Moaveni – Marion Bruce House
- William Nand – Major
- Zara Scott – Marion Bruce House
Also, a reminder that we have your Sunday House Chapel services for Term One, kicking off on Sunday, 22 February at 6pm with the Peart and Marion Bruce Sunday House Chapel Service, so do please keep an eye out on the School Calendar and your Housemaster newsletters.
Finally if you as a student or a family have thought about the offer we make each year for Confirmation, then please do let me know. We are hosting an Anglican Confirmation Service and would love to be able to help prepare you as a student for Confirmation, as we begin Lent together (18 February). I will be running four sessions that help students understand what Confirmation is and that will help them prepare them for the ‘Journey of Following Jesus’. This short four-week course will be held at a time that suits them best.
In the meantime, if we can help you or your child settle into life here at the College and especially the Chapel, please feel free to touch base at: g.walters@kingscollege.school.nz for general enquiries or a.horacek-glading@kingscollege.school.nz for enquiries about our Community Service Programme.
We are here to serve.
Peace and grace,
Rev Gareth Walters