By Nick McIvor | Posted: Friday December 16, 2016
Have a Happy Christmas and New Year with family and friends. We wish you all a wonderful summer as you rest and refresh. It’s a time to get into the things you’ve been keen to enjoy but had to put on the ‘back burner’ due to commitments at home or work. Our hope is that you not only have a break but that it feels as if it’s been a break.
To the boys leaving us:
‘May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields and, Until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.’[1]
Have the good fortune that this old Irish proverb invokes, and get out there to make your own good fortune as you find your way in the world. Be as proud of yourself and what you’ve achieved at Timaru Boys’ as we are, and highly value the friendships and positive connections, that you now have with students and staff or others you learned from; many of which will endure. Continue to grow an inquisitive and independent mind, good character, and a good reputation. Keep acquiring the knowledge and skills that add to your capability, credentials, and confidence. And look to be in the company of good people, and to be defined, in part, by your good deeds, in the years to come. As an Old Boy of Timaru Boys’, you now carry a special bond with the school, and represent the values of the school. We hope that you will be moved to retain this bond, and to be a purveyor of our values as a positive presence in the wider community in New Zealand and abroad. We are renowned for our ‘can do’ spirit at TBHS - so carry and show this spirit as you move further through life.
To the boys returning in 2017, come back all the wiser from your experiences in 2016 and ready to learn well in order to achieve well. Reflect on what has brought you success in or out of the classroom, and what has impeded or delayed your progress and fuller realisation. There are great opportunities waiting to be seized on your return from late January onwards.
To our 22 support staff and 49 teaching staff, I thank you for the immense, dedicated support you have given the boys to grow this year. We will welcome new colleagues to our ranks in 2017, and wish those departing to new callings all the very best. In this departing group, we have Henry Booth, Melanie O’Connor, David Harding, Doreen Vance, Janelle King, Nikki Hall and Tony Hill. We thank them all for their special contributions to making us who we are as a school. The retirement of Tony Hill, after 29 years Mathematics teaching at Timaru Boys’, is particularly significant.
Nick McIvor
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