FEILDING HIGH SCHOOL.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 2434, 28 July 1924, Page 2

FEILDING HIGH SCHOOL.

COMMEMORATION DAY SERVICE. At St. John’s Anglican Church yesterday, a special commemoration Day service was conducted in connection with the Pending Agricultural H.gh School. The service was taken by the Rev. ( F. H. Petrie, who based his very interesting Herman on ICor. 111. 11. "For other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” "In the Oltl' ‘Country," said Mr Petrie, “commemoration days are much bettor known and understood than they arc here in New Zealand. Ever since the Reformation there have been commemoration days at Oxford and Cambridge, upon which the foundation of the Universities is commemorated and the names of al! the known benefactors to the Universities are proclaimed, and the names of famous and distinguished sons of the Universities are recalled and honoured. Most of the great public schools in England too have thencommemoration days; those also have been observed for many years now, and each year as they come _ rentier they arc marked by a great union of old pupils gathered from far and near. Each of those Institutions has Us college chapel and the main part of the celebration of commemoration day takes place there. You, who are students or have been students, of the FeUding Agricultural High School, arc to take part in the celebration of vour commemoration day on Wednesday next. Your school Is but young vet, not quite three years old and there is yet much to be done before it can be said to be fully equipped. Some day, it is to bo hoped, you will have your own chapel but as yet this is not so. And so it has been thought fitting in order that the relig’ous aspect of the commemoration may be emphasised, that on this the Sunday preceding the actual clay you should come together for service in one of the Houses of God adjacent to your school. And what are the thoughts that ought to be uppermost in your minds to-dav? First, of all there will be the thought of your school and that thought will, I am sure. bring to von all, feelmsrg of thankfulness and oratitude to God for having instured those men who gave so freely of their time and their labour and their money hs to enable the institution of your school to become an accomplished fact. There is no need for me to mention names, as is done on commemoration days in England, because what they did. was done so short a time ago, but I am quite sure the names of those men w'll he first in the memories of von all to-day. And then perhaps another thou-'ht which will he in vnur minds to-day will be the thought that vou are at a disadvantage as compared with the pupi's of those English schools in as much as you have no traditions to in°pire you, and no nohlc examines of former pupils that you enn follow. Rut if so, then thero is this thought to compensate you. end 't is a most ' solemn thought the thought that it is for you io make trad'tion and for you—(ho foundation pupils of your school—-to set the examnles that others wi'l be proud to follow. Remember, if the foundations of the buildings are poor or had. that which is built on them can never he satisfactory. -And so, if you a v e not now trvinx to do ymir best, striving with n.ll your might to net up to the excellent m-ottp of your school, ever remembering that the honour of your school is in your keening, then you are hetp’ng to lav a foundation unon which no worthy institution can ever be built. “And then too, you are at the present lime helping to make what will ho the trad'tion of your school. Remember. there are had traditions a* well as good. Rome of the schools at Home have glorious traditions; some have evil ones mixed with the good fust think what the disgrace would he, if. in clavg to come, your name was the one sunken of as the name of him or her who had fouled a record that otherwise would have boon g”ea.t end good. Surely such a thought ns this cannot but have the effect of making you, one and all, determine that as far as it lies within your power the foundations of your school shn'l ho well and truly laid. And then a further thought that mav well come (pto your minds to-day-—at least Into the minds of you who are still pupils of the school—is the thought that not only are the foundations of your school being non/ laid, but the foundations of your own life also. Tour time at school is a time of preparation for the life in the world that lies before you all. And how ought that time of probation to be employed? The other day I was reading of the preparatory work that was done before those brave men sot, out some years ago, on the ship Discovery, to explore the then unknown, Antarctic region in search of the South Role. Four th'gs were, done at that, time First, the ship was built of the soundest material, on winch hands could be laid. Care was taken to see that no unsound or rotten plank was built into the ship. Then secondly those men studied carefully all the charts and learnt the currents and the winds so that they should, as little as possible, be taken by surprise When out upon the ocean. Then thirdly, tlmv took in supplies to last them for the years thev should be away. And then, fourthly they waited for the word of command before they rbould sail. Now, T think you have here an example wbicb you mav well follow. In tbe first place you roust see to it. that there >s no rotten plank in the ship that you are building. I know many men who have been shipwrecked upon tbe rocks of temptation because they bulil in a, rotten plank; at their pub-

lic schools. It is a lesson both to masters and pupils. It surely must give a terriiic work of masters to know that the hurricane outside tbe harbour will try their work, of what sort it is; that though in the haven of the school it may not be discovered whether it la sound or not, the tempest will And it out; and that every term brings with it, the awful responsibility, of whether sound material has been put into the ship or not. And if it is a great warning for the masters of the school, so also is it for you who are pupils. You can all answer this question—are you building rotten materials into this ship, which has to stand so much when it comes into the open sea'.? Are you getting - into the habit of telling lies or of doing scamped and dishonest work? Are you getting marks by cheating? Are you lotting your minds dwell on things, which you know demoralise you? Are you telling to others or hearing from others, things you ought never speak of at all? Such questions really mean what is being built into the character. And if there are some now’ the term is well advanced, who know that this term has been a bad term for them; that (hey have learnt things and done which their conscience tells them are wrong, then saw out that plank before the term is over, a.t whatever cost: stop the lie, get that dishonest work set right, give over the bad habit, that so the term then may show what honest strong sound planks have been contributed to the ship.. "The second thing you must do is to study the charts now, and watch the currents and the w'nds. What is now your worst temptation? It will bo your worst temptation is all probability afterwards. What wind is it, whid -1 sways your ship most? Is it the soft breeze of flattery? Or is it tbe temptest of sudden temptation, or fear of unpopularity? Or is it tbe strong deep undercurrent of strong pass'on? Watch them. Watch tbe currents. Watch the winds. As the Greek proverb says; "Get to know yourself. Know yourself at school and you will then be able with the strength, of selfknowledge to launch out into the great deep when the cal! comes to you to do so. “And then thirdly, let this be tbe time for taking in suoplies for the voyage. Take in supplies of knowledge It was never more true .than it is to day that knowledge is power. Ami opportunities neg'ectcd at school neve come aga'n and so. I sav again acquire now, all the knowledge yon can. Rut if knowledge is power, character Is more power. There never was a time when a humble, unselfish,_ firm character could do more good in tinworld. You see, time after time, that the man who has character has an in finance over others, which mere knowledge cannot give him And then to lay in supplies of Christian faith. That alone will avail a man or a woman at the last. Be careful sibout your prayers, because by prayer, fa'th is nourished. And every ship that sabs out of the harbour of the school, strongly built, bearing with it a pure heart, and a clear faith has a usefulness and a success before it of which vou little dream. “Easily, when the time comes go out lively at the word of command out into the world to do the work God has for you to do. People sometimes speak of calls, as if ’t were only clergymen who were called. It is not true; we are all called. And we ought to do nothing unless wc have a call. Ask God in your prayers what He would have you to do and vour pray era will be heard and He will toll yon It is a great m’stake to divide up Mie into secular and sa.cred and to think that because you are not ordained therefore you need not be religious. We are all called to bo holy, no matter what our foundations; we are all call cd to be good, no matter what we are And there is someth'ng that God means you to do: “To this end was I born, for this cause came I into the world” — and yon must try now, and in succeeding years to find out what it is. And when you have found this out then go forward. Go forward with your ship firmly built; with an accur ate knowledge as far as may be. of what lies ahead; with adequate sup plies gained at your school 1 which offers you so much; and in obedience to the word of command. Do this; prepare yourself for this now. And then you will be setting an example that others will be glad to fololw; you will be showing your gratitude to God and the founders of your school: you will be helping to build up tradition yhich the citizens of Feilding In years to come will be proud to cherish; and you will be helping to lay a foundation upon which a noble and worthy institution may be built up.”