Walking into the auditorium before all our year 13 peers, prior to the
announcement of head boy and girl of 2014, was a highly anticipated
moment. We both relished the opportunity and were so honoured and
thankful to both our peers and teachers who believed we would succeed
in this role. The appointment of these positions not only saw us to become
more organised with our schoolwork, school activities and any other
commitments we had but also helped us grow further as leader’s.
Many highlights have occurred throughout 2014, including Year 13 camp,
National Youth Leaders’ Day, Relay For Life, Hawkes Bay Youth Leaders’
Day, highly competitive House events, numerous leadership breakfasts’
and of course, Forum meetings with the house captains, student rep and
Mr Wilton.
Year 13 camp was everything we were lead to believe it would be – full
of fun and house antics. National Youth Leaders’ Day was particularly
memorable. The van trip down to Wellington with Forum members and Mr
Wilton never failed to keep a continuous stream of interesting conversation
going. Upon arrival at NOMADS backpackers we headed out into the
nightlife for a fitting “dinner and a movie” date. Although the movie choice
wasn’t particularly on-point, the night was enjoyable and the excitement
for getting down to business the next day was apparent. Of course, this
National Youth Leaders’ Day could not have been kicked off without Mr
Wilton’s domestic skills of scrambled eggs and bacon, accompanied by
a fresh brew of the bean. We attended the conference and were blown
away by the speakers and the advice they had to offer us from their life
experiences which we are soon going to have ourselves. In particular,
Cam Calkoean and his inspiring story of growing up with Cerebral Palsy
and how this has never stopped him from accomplishing so much, had
the whole room in either awe or tears (excluding our Kauri House Captain,
Liam Reeves). We tipped off the day with a mandatory Parliamentary visit
which ended in the best possible way a visit to parliament could, “selfies”
with the PM himself. The van on the way back was buzzing, thanks to
John Key’s number one supporter, our very own Tainui House Captain,
Emily Scott.
The opportunities we have experienced this year have been endless and it has been a genuine honour to
represent Havelock North High for the year of 2014. It is now the time of year where we are bunking down to study
for our end of year exams, finalising course applications for uni and getting excited for the future that awaits us. We
would like to thank all the teachers, faculty and staff who have supported us in and out of our leadership role this
year, especially Mr Fenton, Mrs Fitzsimmons, Mr Wilton and Mrs Neville-Foster for all their wisdom. To our peers, we
wish the best in their futures, no matter where or what that may be.
Caitlin King and Ben Green
Head Boy and Girl