Kia, ora, School. Please be seated. 

I’d like to invite Aidan House Prefect Fletcher Mackay forward to deliver today’s reading 

Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah Chapter 17, Verses 7-8 

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." 

This is the word of the Lord (Thanks be to God) 

Rectors Comments:    

Thank you, Fletcher.  

“They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.” Today, I want to share with you the story of a remarkable tree — the bamboo tree. Some of you may already know about it, but for those who don’t, let me tell you why this tree is unlike any other and why it carries an important lesson for every one of you sitting here today. 

The bamboo tree is a marvel of nature. When a bamboo seed is planted, and we water it, if we’re expecting to see a little green shoot appear in the first few days or after a week, we’re going to be a little disappointed. Weeks pass, and then after about a month, a tiny green shoot will appear and a seedling shoots up to a height of a few inches. That little seedling takes 6 months to grow to a height of 10cm (the palm of my hand).  

A whole year goes by, and there’s not much growth. Two years, three years, four. We continue to water the soil, nourish the roots, and trust in the process. But not much happens and if we don’t know the secret of the bamboo tree, we may tempted to give up on it. 

Then, in the fifth year, something extraordinary happens. Suddenly, and almost without warning, the bamboo tree shoots up rapidly and it doesn’t just grow a few inches—it grows up to 1 metre per day and grows to a height of 90 feet in a matter of weeks. In just a short span of time, it becomes one of the tallest and strongest trees in the world.  

But here’s the question: What was the bamboo tree doing that whole time? Was it just lying dormant, kind of sleeping until the fifth year when it then knew it was time to grow? 

Well…. No it wasn’t sleeping. For five years, that little bamboo tree was working incredibly hard, laying down deep, strong roots in the ground. While the world saw nothing, the tree was preparing. It was ensuring that when the time came for it to rise, it would do so with strength, stability, and resilience. Without those years of unseen effort, the bamboo would never have been able to grow so tall and withstand the storms that life would bring its way. 

Now, why am I telling you this story? Well it’s because each of you is like that bamboo tree. Right now, as young men, you are in the years of preparation. In your intermediate and junior years you’re being nurtured with love from those who care about you and your being instilled with solid values that become the foundation for later. These are the years when you lay down your roots and foundations that will shape the man you become.  

Your character, your discipline, your values, and your education. And just like we must be patient when we water and tend to the bamboo seedling, you must be patient and trust the process too. 

Sometimes, it may feel like the effort you put in doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere. Maybe you study hard for a test, and the results aren’t what you hoped for. Maybe you train on the field day after day, but you’re still not picked for the team. Maybe you try to do the right thing, but you feel unseen, unappreciated. It’s a bit like what Reverend Dunnett was saying on Wednesday about not getting what you had hoped for.  

And in those moments, you might wonder: What’s the point? Why bother if I don’t see immediate results? But remember the bamboo tree. The most important growth happens beneath the surface, before anyone else can see it. The work you put in today—the discipline, the honesty, the perseverance—is not wasted. It is strengthening you and laying down the foundation so that when your time comes to rise, you will stand tall and be unshakable. It will give you the resilience to bounce back when you fall. 

And what kind of man do you want to be when you do rise? Do you want to be a man who sways easily in the wind, weak and uncertain? Or do you want to be like the bamboo — strong, proud, resilient, able to withstand any storm?  

That strength does not come from nowhere. It comes from the foundations you build now, from the choices you make every single day. 

So I urge you to be patient. Keep working hard. Be disciplined even when no one is watching. Develop integrity, even when it seems like cutting corners might be easier. Treat others with respect, even when it feels like others don’t. Keep growing, keep striving, keep believing in yourself. 

Because one day, sooner than you think, your time will come. And when it does, all of the effort, all of the perseverance, all of the unseen work you put in will reveal itself in the strong, capable, and good man you have become. 

The world needs more men of character, more men who stand tall, not because they took the easy road, but because they laid down deep, strong roots. Be that man. Be the bamboo. 

Thank you for listening courteously again today, gentleman.  

Reverend Dunnet complimented you on your singing the other day and it was awesome. Please join me in singing the hymn 

When I Needed a Neighbour.  

HYMN   
 

Thank you, please be seated.  

Some of you may have noticed a new member of staff who has joined us this week and it gives me great pleasure to announce to you our new  Director of Sport Mr Gaffney. Mr Gaffney was Director of Sport at Whanganui Collegiate until he joined us and before that he was in the Senior Leadership Team at Scots College, Wellington, where he held a sports portfolio. Mr Gaffney has been getting around lots of your sports games and practices this week, including running the Colts football trails last night. I’m now going to invite Mr Gaffney forward to introduce himself and so please make him feel welcome. 

Mr Gaffney speaks. 

Mr Gaffney: I’ll now invite Sports Prefect, Oscar Jarvis forward to update us on the latest Sports news 

Sports Report 

Good afternoon, school. It is my pleasure to read this week's sports reports. 

In Rugby Pre-season fixtures for our 1st XV have formed an important part of preparation ahead of the CNI competition and I’m pleased to report that our 1st XV   

• beat Taupo-nui-a-Tia College 73-5  

• beat Gisborne Boys High School 27-26 

In Futsal After a tough start to the week in Wellington, the Senior Boys bounced back to win the Shield competition, and the Junior Boys were highly competitive and a 4-3win against St Thomas saw the team progress to the Bowl section of the tournament. An 8-0 win against Hillcrest saw the team through to the semi-final against St Bernard’s and after a penalty shootout, the team clinched a place in the final against St Patrick’s, Silverstream where another penalty shootout secured the win for Lindisfarne. 

In Rowing Our rowers participated in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships (MAADI) last week. Lindisfarne entered eight boats across singles, doubles, quads and a pair and progressed through to five B-finals and placed top 10 in three of the events.  

• Ashton Scott finished 10th in the Under 17 singles 

• Noah Leyton and Ashton Bell finished 10th in the Novice Under 18 doubles 

• Angus Lovell, Charlie Cropper, Noah Leyton and Ashton Bell finished 9th in the Novice Under 18 quads

In Waka Ama Lindisfarne attended the Waka Ama Nationals for the first time and exceeded their expectations. Currently for turns, the boys are ranked 6th in the country, and 8th for straights. With two events yet to be concluded, we look forward to further progress as the season progresses. 

In BMX Riley Burley competed in the 2025 BMXNZ National Series held in Invercargill with a view to improving his plate ranking for under 16 boys. He placed #NZ5 in New Zealand—a fantastic achievement! 

In Football The 1st XI played against Hasting’s Boys on Wednesday afternoon and delivered a strong performance in securing a fine 3-1 win.  

Canoe Polo Lindisfarne had nine boys represent Hawkes Bay Canoe Polo over the weekend. Olly Fritchley’s team finished second, which is a great achievement. 

Duke of Edinburgh  Noah Hemmingson and Henry Leipst have, through a co-ordinated programme of service and achievement, completed the requirements for the Bronze Award. 

Can Noah and Henry please come forward to receive their certificates and our congratulations. 

In Swimming The Lindisfarne Intermediate Swimming Team participated in the Hawkes Bay Inter-school competition last week securing 2nd place overall in the Year 7 Boys category and 3rd place in Year 8 Boys. Standout individual performances included: 

Year 7 Age Group 

• Flynn Webber finished 3rd in the 50m Freestyle event 

• Ben Common finished 3rd in the 25m Freestyle and 2nd in the 25m Butterfly events 

• William Kilpatrick finished 1st in the 50m Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke events 

• Jack Flynn finished 3rd in the 25m Butterfly and 25m Freestyle events 

• Wiremu Geary finished 2nd in the 50m Butterfly event 

Year 8 Age Group 

• George Wickham finished 2nd in the 100m Freestyle and 3rd in the 50m Backstroke 

• Hamish McLaren finished 1st in the 50m Backstroke 

Can Flynn, Ben, William, Jack, Wiremu, George and Hamish please come forward to receive their certificates and our congratulations. 

Rector Comments: 

Thank you, Oscar.  

We’re fortunate to have a guest with us today on stage. Ollie Howlett is an old boy who graduated in 2017 and yes he is Deputy Rector Mr Howlett’s son. Ollie is a talented actor and singer to name just a few of his talents and I know that because I’ve seen and heard him perform several times. On Sunday Ollie is performing with his group The Barden Party on the Homestead Lawn. They’re performing Macbeth and it promises to be a highly entertaining evening.  

Ollie’s been kind enough to work with our students today in Music classes and we’ve twisted his arm to stay on a bit longer to perform for us at our assembly, so please put your hands together for old boy Ollie Howlett. 

Mama Mia Production: 

The joint Woodford House and Lindisfarne Production of Mamma Mia started on Monday evening , and since then three sold out shows have been incredibly successful. There has been fantastic feedback from the public about how professional and entertaining the show has been. In the background you can see photos from the production that will hopefully give you an idea of how great the show has been thus far.  

The full production team of that has made the show possible includes the cast, crew, back stage team, tech team, set construction, painters, ushers, costume makers and designers, props team, and sound engineering. Everyone has been putting in 100% effort to make each night unforgettable, and have they have learned so much along the way.  

I would like to give my huge thanks to the following staff… 

Director of the show  - Mrs Atkin

Assistant director – Miss Atkin 

Vocal Director – Ms Pierard 

Band Director  - Mr Selfe 

Choreography – Ms Smith 

Costumes – Mrs Clarke 

Round of applause please. 

Although we cannot congratulate everyone individually, I would the six male leads to come forward to receive a round of applause on behalf of the whole team. These boys gave outstanding performances alongside the female leads from Woodford House. 

Te Awarangi  Puketapu-Pene = Sam 

Chris Proctor = Bill 

Noah Rogers = Harry 

Josh Vossen-Chong = Skye 

Beck Allen = Pepper 

Frank Gilligan = Eddie 

There are still two more performances, one tonight and one on Saturday before the production for 2025 comes to an end.  

Congratulations to everyone whose been recognised today. All the best to you if you have weekend sport on such as Water Polo finals and College Day 1st and 2nd XV rugby on Sunday and of course all the best to the entire production crew. 

Reverend Dunnett, will now close our assembly in prayer. 

Article added: Monday 07 April 2025