Week-end offers chance to recollect

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 26

Week-end offers chance to recollect

The chance to rewalk the corridors, attend assembly in the school assembly hall, play sport in the gymnasium, meet up with former teachers, and renew school friendships is all part of the twenty-fifth jubilee celebrations to be held at Hillmorton High School on Anzac week-end.

Former pupils, staff, P.T.A., board members and friends of the school are warmly invited back to view the changes that have occurred since the school first opened on February 1, 1961. First-day pupils numbered 138 — 55 boys and 83 girls. Twenty-five years later, the school roll stands at 1088.

Early pupils will remember the school with one classroom block, administration buildings, a boilerhouse and assembly hall.

Today’s pupils enjoy facilities including a school gymnasium, swimming pool, sports pavilion and audio-visual theatre.

The chairman of the jubilee committee, Mr Neil Webley, urges anyone who is keen to participate in the celebrations and has not yet been contacted to fill in the form on this page. The programme is: Thursday, April 24: The school will hold an Open

Day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. This offers former pupils and teachers the opportunity to see how much the school has changed in the years since they last attended. Conducted tours will be available. Facilities for late registrations will also be set up in the main foyer of the Assembly Hall. At 8 p.m., present pupils and staff will combine talents with past pupils and staff to provide a variety revue in the school hall. Friday, April 25 (Anzac Day): A day of sports activities, with a full programme planned to suit all tastes.

For golfers, use of the Tai Tapu Golf Course has been booked between 8 a.m. and noon. (Intending players are reminded to supply their own golf clubs.) At 10 a.m., volleyball games for both men and women are scheduled in the school gymnasium. There is a 1 p.m. start time for soccer, hockey, rugby (on the school fields), netball (school netball courts), and basketball (gymnasium). It has been arranged that former pupils will be responsible for organising each of these codes. To

assist these people, intending players are asked to indicate on the registration form, or by phoning the school office, 385119, their interest. An adjournment to the Hoon Hay Club at the completion of play is planned. The Hoon Hay Club is also the location for Friday’s “Soiree,” commencing at 7.30 p.m. Registrations in so far indicates this ,to be the most popular event. This will offer the first chance for many to meet old school chums and discuss the paths their lives have taken during the years since leaving school. A continuous supper will be served, and entertainment provided. Saturday, April 26: The formal opening ceremony with speeches from invited guests will commence at 12.30 p.m. Those attending will be able to scan photo displays from days gone by, be recorded in the official roll call, witness the flag raising and the cutting of the jubilee cake. Group photos (including first-day pupils, and fiveyear groupings) will be taken during the afternoon, and it is hoped to have proofs on show at the cabaret that evening, but definitely at Sunday’s closing ceremony.

Afternoon tea completes the opening ceremony. The jubilee cabaret, on Saturday evening, is being billed as the “creme de la creme” of the week-end’s events. Four entertainment areas have been booked at Lincoln College to cater for varying tastes in music and conversation. Entertainment will be provided by Daily Bred and Pat Kearns in the College’s Gillespie Hall, with the popular singer, Malcolm McNeill, entertaining in the downstairs lounge. Two other areas will be set aside for coffee and conversation. A buffet supper will be served throughout the evening. Sunday, April 27: A church service and closing ceremony will commence at 10.30 a.m. The service will be officiated

by a former pupil, Mr Hamish Galloway. A tree planting ceremony in the school grounds will be followed by the official jubilee closing and morning tea.

For present and past staff (and spouses) only, the opportunity to swap teaching stories comes at the staff luncheon, the week-end’s last organised event, in the Assembly Hall at 1 p.m.