Friday, 25 September 2026
Assembly Notes - 19.06.26
College Assembly – 25th September 2026
Kia ora school, e noho please be seated.
I’d like to invite Years 7 and 8 Prefect, Elliot Wickham, forward to deliver today’s reading.
Today’s reading comes from Psalm 100:4-5
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
This is the word of the Lord (thanks be to God)
Rector Comments:
Thank you, Elliot.
As we come to the end of Term 3, it is important to pause and reflect on what has been an outstanding term for our College.
When we are in the middle of the fullness of school life, it can be easy to focus on what is next. Another fixture, another assessment, another event, another challenge. Yet before we look ahead, we should take a moment to recognise just how much has been achieved.
Across the College, you, the boys have represented Lindisfarne exceptionally on a whole, well this term. On the sports fields, courts, tracks, rivers and golf courses, our students have competed with determination, skill and sportsmanship. In the classroom, boys have continued to challenge themselves academically, striving for excellence and pursuing personal improvement. In the cultural and service spheres of school life, many have stepped forward to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
While we rightly celebrate achievement, I want to acknowledge something even more important as without it, achievement is not possible: That is effort.
Achievement is often visible. It appears on scoreboards, certificates and reports. Effort is sometimes less obvious. It is the early morning training session on a cold winter morning. It is the extra revision completed when you have a small window of time, rather than sitting on your phone. It is the student who keeps going despite setbacks and disappointments. It is the willingness to give your best, regardless of the outcome.
As a College, we should be very proud of the effort shown by you, the student body, this term.
However, none of this happens by accident.
Today I want to specifically thank our teaching staff, coaching staff, boarding staff, support staff and all those who invest so much of themselves into the lives of our students.
Behind every successful team is a coach and manager who has given up evenings and weekends. Behind every strong academic result is a teacher who has spent countless hours planning lessons, marking assessments and providing feedback. Behind every young man who feels supported is a staff member who has taken the time to listen, encourage, mentor and care.
The successes we celebrate today and earlier this term are not only student successes. They are shared successes.
To all staff, thank you for the expertise, passion and commitment you bring to Lindisfarne College every day. You make an extraordinary difference in the lives of our boys, often in ways that may never be fully seen or appreciated.
We often applaud when boys names are called out during reports. Boys, I would you to join me in acknowledging and thanking those adults who have supported your journey this year and this term with a round of applause.
As we now head into the holiday break, there is an important balance that we need to strike. Find the time to re-charge, find the time to get things done, find the time to study, to practice and to train. Find the time to reconnect. Find the time to do something for you.
After an incredibly full term, all of us need time to rest, recharge and spend time with family and friends. Rest is not a sign of weakness. Rest is an important part of performing well. Athletes understand this. High achievers understand this. Recovery allows us to return stronger, sharper and more focused.
So, I encourage you to enjoy the break when it arrives. Get outside. Spend time with your whānau. Have some fun. Put your phone down and disconnect. Sleep well. Recharge your batteries.
However, there is another reality that we must acknowledge.
For many of our senior students, the most important assessments of the year are not far away. Success in end-of-year examinations is rarely determined in November. More often than not, it is determined by the habits and preparation that occur in the weeks leading up to them.
That does not mean studying all day, every day throughout the holidays. It does mean identifying certain pockets of time where you begin the mahi.
A timetable created and a little bit revision completed consistently is far more valuable than a last-minute panic.
Use the holidays wisely. Create a plan. Review class notes. Complete some practice questions. Identify areas that need improvement. Ask yourself: What can I do now that will make Term 4 less stressful and more successful.
As we finish Term 3, rest well. Be grateful. Look after yourselves and your families. But also begin the mahi that your future self will thank you for in November.
Thank you for your efforts this term. Thank you to our staff for the remarkable contribution they make to the life of the College. And thank you to our students for the energy, commitment and character you bring to our community each day.
Please join me in singing the hymn: Highways in the Heart
HYMN: Highways in the Heart
Rector Comments:
Please be seated. I would now like to invite Liam Pentreath and Leo Baker forward to deliver a message regarding school lunches on behalf of the Student Council.
Good afternoon, boys.
Liam and I are two of the student council representatives, and today we want to update you on what the student council have been doing with the lunches.
So, last term, the Student Council sent out a survey asking for your feedback on different things around the College. One of the things that came through was the lunches.
So, off the back of that, we sent out another survey specifically about the kitchen and lunches, to get a better idea of what you wanted to see changed or improved. Some of you may have heard this from your Student Council reps in Deans' meetings and thank you to everyone who took the time to complete those surveys.
Then, we sat down with Mrs Mathers, head of the kitchen, and talked through all the feedback you gave us — things like portion sizes, condiments, meal repetition, and of course, your favourites.
Since then, the kitchen has already made some changes based on your feedback, and there are other things still being looked at. But we realised that most people don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes, so we thought it’d be worth explaining what goes into planning and preparing lunch for the whole College.
As you can imagine, there's a lot going on behind the scenes.
Running a kitchen for around 600 people takes a lot more planning than you'd think. When the food trucks arrive, how long different meats can be kept for, how much time it takes to prepare each meal, it all adds up
So, Mince shows up basically every Monday. Why Monday?
Because it's one of the few meats that can be kept over the weekend. The trucks bringing everything else don't arrive until late Monday — there just isn't enough time to get them ready for lunch that day.
CHANGE
That's Monday sorted. Now — crispy chicken and naan. Two of your favourites, and there's a reason they're worth the wait.
Every single piece of crispy chicken gets deep-fried twice. Not once but twice. That's what gets it that crunch. And we're not talking a small batch — over 2,600 pieces, every time it's on the menu.
Naan gets the same care. Every naan comes individually wrapped, so each one has to be unwrapped by hand before it even gets near the oven — more than 600 of them. And that’s not even the end of it. Only three can fit on a tray at a time, so the kitchen has to carefully time when they go in and out of the oven to make sure they’re all ready for lunch.
And then there’s sushi, which a lot of people ask about.
Sushi comes ready-made, straight from St Pierre's, which is why it's a bit of a treat when it's on. It costs roughly double a standard lunch, plus the spring rolls that come with it, so it won't be on every week — but that's why it's worth looking forward to.
Here's the main thing we want you to take from this: your feedback is being listened to, and it's already making a difference. And that's not the end of it — we're continuing to work with the kitchen on everything else that came through in the survey.
And while we've got you thinking about it — please keep thanking the kitchen staff. They're cooking for over 600 people every single day, and it's a huge amount of work. Every meal whether it is your favourite or not, should be appreciated because they all have a lot of hard work put into them.
One more thing. Yesterday we emailed you a survey asking for new lunch ideas. The kitchen asked us to send it out because they want to know what you guys actually want to eat. If you haven’t filled it out yet, please take a couple of minutes to do it. The more ideas and feedback we get, the more we can improve the lunches.
Thank you, boys.
Rector Comments:
Liam and Leo – Superb. Some great insight into what is a huge operation. Well done in this space!
I will now invite Cultural Prefect, Te Awarangi Puketapu-Pene, forward to update us on the latest Arts and Cultural news.
Cultural Report
Performing Arts Concert
Tuesday was a huge day for all performers who performed at this year’s performing arts concert in Napier. It was fantastic to see the whole school in the auditorium of the Napier Municipal Theatre enjoying the talent and hard work of many boys this year. The concert featured a huge variety of acts including kapa haka, choir, chamber music, rock, jazz, symphonic band, pipe band, musical drama, as well as soloists Orlando Norman (who performed poetry) and Oscar Zhao (who performed on piano). It was a great experience for the performers, tech team, and the stage-hands to put on a show in a large, professional venue. Huge thanks to all the performers for their dedication to the performing arts for making this concert possible. Thanks to Taine Hemmingsen who managed sound, and to Ashton Scott who did the lighting on the night. Thank you also to Mr Selfe, Mrs Atkin, Mr Hanham and Dr Kristensen for all their work in preparing the concert.
Trinity College Examinations
Recently some of our music students sat music examinations on their respective instruments. Congratulations to the following boys who were successful with their Trinity College London music exams…
- James McDougal gained Merit in Grade 5 trumpet.
- Felix Macfarland passed Grade 3 in trumpet
- Peter Mitchell passed Grade 6 with the distinction.
Can James, Felix, and Peter, please come forward to accept their certificates.
HB Young Musician of the Year
Congratulations to Oscar Zhao who was awarded second place at this year’s Hawke’s Bay Young Musician of the Year Competition, playing the piano. After making it to the final six performers, Oscar delivered a strong performance last Friday evening at the Blyth Performing Arts Centre. Oscar performed a contrasting programme of three different pieces. Well done, Oscar, on this outstanding achievement.
Musical production 2027
Last week we announced that the joint musical production with Woodford House for 2027 will be We Will Rock You. This will be a hugely exciting music that features songs by the band Queen. The story is set 300 years in the future in a world where music and individuality have been banned, and the only friends you are allowed have are those online. This will be directed by Mrs Atkin.
All current year 10-12 students have received an email explaining the audition process. There is a link in the email to register for an audition. Even if you have never been involved in music or drama before, I encourage all current year 10-12 students to consider being part of the production next year as it is a lot of fun and you learn a lot at during the process.
That concludes today’s cultural report.
Rector Comments:
Thank you, Te Awarangi. I will now invite Sports Prefect, Reid Palmer, forward to update us on the latest Sports news.
Sports Report
In Football
The 1st XI football boys travel to Palmerston North for the Lotto Premier tournament with the Junior A team travelling to Tauranga for the Hillsdene Junior Nationals. The 1st XI, following pool play and some narrow losses to St Patrick’s, Town (0-2), Mt Albert Grammar (2-3) and Shirley boys (0-2), found themselves playing for 17th -32nd. The boys secured a 1-0 win over Marlborough Boy’s College in the play-offs before going down to Cambridge High School, PNBHS and St Paul’s Collegiate. This set of results meant that the 1st XI finished 24th in New Zealand.
The Junior A team, with eleven Year 9s, participating at the national tournament for the first time, delivered some gutsy performances against largely year 10 opponents. Height, strength and physicality were the obvious challenges, but the boys are to be commended for their effort and determination. The heavy defeat to Palmerston North Boys High School, finalists in 2025 and 2026, was the only disappointing performance. Highlights included a massive effort against Rutherford College (Auckland A1 winners) and Hamilton Boy’s High School. Holding Rutherford College to 0-0 at halftime was impressive as was holding Hamilton Boy’s to 1-1, 42 minutes in. Despite both results going against, the performances highlighted that we can be competitive on the national stage. A further highlight was the 3-3 draw with Te Puke. We look forward to next year’s tournament and achieving a higher ranking than 24th.
In Golf
Cordell Henare, George Pogson and Luke Jarvis travelled to Christchurch for the National Golf Championships. The team finished 10th out of twenty-six competing teams. Luke placed 16th, Cordell placed 26th and George placed 36th. The focus shifted to the Individual Age Group championships with Luke and George playing in the Under 16 age group and Cordell playing in the Under 19 age group. After three days of competition, George finished 5th and Luke 6th in the Under 16 Age Group.
George Pogson had some success in Whakatane over the weekend playing in the Men's Bay of Plenty Stroke Play. Over four rounds he scored 73,72,73,73 to secure 6th place.
In Hockey
The 1st XI hockey boys travelled to Dunedin for the Rankin/India Shield tournament. Eight Year 11s made up the squad of sixteen players and as such, the focus was on securing a position higher than 26th with the bottom six teams being relegated for next year’s tournament. If this pressure was not enough, our boys found themselves in a pool with Westlake Boy’s High School and Hamilton Boy’s High School, both tournament favourites! It was heart-warming to see the boys take on the challenge and with fine wins against Trident (7-0) and Nelson College (4-1). These results saw the boys play in the quarter-final of the India Shield against Otago Boy’s High School. A tightly contested game ended at 3-3 with Otago Boy’s winning the game 4-2 in the penalty shootout. A win against Southland Boy’s High School (2-0) set up the final game to be played against Timaru Boy’s High School. The result went against us, but the overall set of results saw the boys finish 22nd in New Zealand.
In Basketball
The Senior A Basketball team competing in the Central Cup in Palmerston North. After a fine local season, the boys were in good spirits going into the competition. Two wins on Day 1 against Wellington High School (61-52) and Kapiti College (97-58). A win against Kuranui (88-69) on Day 2 saw the team progress to the Top eight. Two defeats on Day 3 against Waitara (66-88) and Wellington College B (78-90) saw the boys finish 8th out of 24 competing teams.
In Rugby
The annual Lindisfarne College rugby tournament was held at the beginning of September and with the team coming off a stellar season, the hopes of taking the title were high. Three wins from three games saw the boys into the final against St John’s Hamilton. These wins came against St Peter’s College (46-22), Matamata College (43-24) and Whanganui Collegiate School (49-10). The final against St John’s Hamilton was played in windy conditions and both teams looked evenly matched. A man of the match performance from St John’s flyhalf, was sadly our undoing. The result, a win for St John’s by 37-12, was the first defeat for the boys this season and highlights the quality of their performances!
In Fencing
Ben Huntley posted 28th in the individual men's Sabre event. As part of the Hawkes Bay team, he achieved a bronze medal at the recent National Secondary Schools Fencing Championships in Auckland last weekend (29-31 August).
In Waka Ama
Kiato Buxton and Kahu Walker represented the Haeata Waka Ama Club at the International Va’a World Sprint Championships in Singapore. The team made the finals in the J19 – V12 500m race and came 4th. This is a wonderful achievement, and we congratulate both of you on this achievement!
In BMX
Riley Burley represented New Zealand at the UCI BMX World Championships. He raced in the 17–24 years age group and finished 51st out of 104 riders.
In AIMS games
Flynn Webber competed in the Orienteering event at the AIMS Games and finished 5th overall in his age group, which was a fantastic result.
In Shooting
The final round of the Lower North Island circuit took place last weekend and in Single Rise, Charlie Bothamley shoot 20/20 and placed second in the shoot-off with Gus Denton placing third. In Points Score, Duncan Logan shot 58/60 to finish first with Oscar Hunter placing second. In Single Barrel, Oscar Hunter and Charlie Bothamley shot 18/20 to finish first and second respectively. Oscar Hunter scored of 94/100 to be High Over All on the day.
The A squad (Will Smiley, Oscar Hunter, Charlie Bothamley, Jacob Mathers & Duncan Logan) finished on a team score of 437/500 with the C squad just pipping the B squad by one point. This was the final round of the Lower North Island circuit and as such prize-giving followed the event. Josh Snijders was second in Skeet and third in Points Score. Oscar Hunter was third in Single Rise, first in Points Score and Single Barrel and High Over All for the DTL Skeet aggregate.
In Badminton
Our badminton team (Stanley Su, Jason Yang, Ben Tian and Jianzhi Zhu) have had an amazing season with our Senior A team placing 1st in A grade and the C team came 2nd in B grade. Ben Tian won the Hawkes Bay Singles and Doubles title with Jianzhi Zhu coming second in the singles and winning the doubles title with Ben. Oliver Kee won both the C grade singles and doubles titles at the Hawkes Bay Championships.
Can Stanley, Jason, Ben, Jianzhi, Oliver and Mr Fall please come forward to receive their medals and certificates.
In Duathlon
Flynn Dobson represented Lindisfarne College at the New Zealand Secondary School Duathlon Championships he produced a superb performance in finishing second over the 2.5 km run, 7 km bike and 1.5 km run course. Flynn was awarded first place in the U12 age group and the New Zealand Secondary School Duathlon Championship national title cup, adding another national title to his season.
Can Flynn please come forward to receive his medal
In Cross Country
Our Intermediate team competed in the Hawke’s Bay Primary & Intermediate School Championships on Tuesday with Flynn Dobson and Toby Lockington (Year 7), and Hamish Anderson, Magnus Jones and William Kilpatrick (Year 8) competing in their respective age group categories. In the Year 7 race, Flynn Dobson finished second place whilst in the Year 8 race, Magnus Jones finished a solid fifth.
Rector Comments:
Thank you, Reid. I’d now like to invite Reverend Dunnett forward to present the Term 3 Service Awards.
Service Awards:
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40:
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
We respond to the love that Jesus has shown us by showing that same love and care to others, especially those who are in need.
Service is about putting our faith into action. It is about giving our time, energy, and talents to make a positive difference in the lives of those around us.
As a result of hard work, care, and many hours of dedication to serving others, the following boys have been awarded their Lindisfarne Service Awards:
- Bronze Award – 20 hours of service
- Silver Award – 50 hours of service
- Gold Award – 100 hours of service
Please could the following boys come up to receive their bronze certificate.
Billy Common, Himmat Padda, Jamison Chheur, Michael McCall, Nathaniel Harry, Will Eyre, Liam McEntee, Greyson Pentreath, Liam Pentreath, Thomas Sharp, Leroy Hutton, Matteo Cournane
Please could these boys come up to receive their silver certificate:
Harjoban Kullar, Mac Fan-Robertson, Joshua Chen, Will Eyre
This term, we are especially proud to present our first-ever Gold Lindisfarne Service Awards, recognising an outstanding commitment to serving others.
Please join me in congratulating these students for their generosity, dedication, and willingness to live out Christ's call to serve.
Please could these boys come up to receive their gold badge
Ethan Du Toit, Harjoban Kullar
Rector
Congratulations to everyone whose been recognised today. As we move into the final period of the day please lets finish strong. Can we please ensure that we get the basics right for our return on Monday of Term 4. This includes
- Having a haircut that clearly meets the schools requirements.
- No facial hair
- Shoes – repaired properly if required. No tape holding them together.
- Ensuring your Blazer is dry cleaned
- The correct colour socks for blazer days.
By getting these things right, you will start off on the right foot and will help to create a positive start to term four. Rest up and enjoy the break when it arrives. Come back at the start of term 4 to get stuck in and achieve great things.
Reverend Dunnett will now close our assembly in prayer.
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