Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Thursday 19 February 2015

Congratulations, then and now

 

In 1954, I was a foundation pupil at Papakura High School,  and from then to now, Jeanette and I are still the greatest of friends, We have shared our children’s births, sadness  as friends from those days have died, Jocelyn, we  remember you always, sadness as one by one our parents have gone, family illness,  happiness at times, joy as we meet,  very  occasionally, and more.

In 1957, I was awarded a Prefect’s Badge, along with 19 others. Arch Campbell was our headmaster, a fair and honest man who ran the school with a firm hand, and was so respected.

How hard is it to take a photo of that badge today? The silver reflected my face, the camera, background objects, but with some Silvo and polish, only a few marks of wear and tear show. ( Yes, I am the great keeper of all things memorable!!)


SUMMA PETE

Translated “ Aim for the Highest”

Prefect's Badge,Papakura  High School, 1957Papakura High School prefects with Arch Campbell, Headmaster, 1957 #2

Can you find me???

This week at Rotorua Lakes High School,  prefects’ badges were presented to the students   who had  been  elected by the staff and pupils of Year 12, at the end of 2014.   NCEA awards were also given out  for those who passed with Merit or Excellence. Annette was there , and then   another photo of Josh with his mates. We are so proud, and  now I wonder how my parents felt  back in 1957!! The buttonholes were of fresh flowers , and they all were able to keep them. Thanks, Josh, for permission to post these photos, they  are also on Facebook. Congratulations to all the students who received an award or a badge, or both.

Prefect award day #2Prefect Award Day #3

 

Prefect Award Day #4

Then, this  graduation medal and photo must surely be here as well.My Mum, Grace Gold Phairn, graduated as a “Mental Health Nurse” in 1931, There were 73 nurses who sat their finals in December, a total of 5 achieved First Grade, my Mum was the only one in Nelson, and her marks of 84% the highest in the written paper. She didn’t talk much about those days, and only recently I found this on the Government website. So I can be again so proud of our family, those gone, and those here today.

Grace  Gold Phairn, Graduation 1931

 

G G Phairn medal 1931G G Phairn medal 1931 reverse side # 867

Quotation of the day, from Eleanor Roosevelt

The future belongs to those who believe

in the beauty of their dreams”

Greetings from Jean

15 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

multi-generational pride. :) how very cool.

Georgia said...

My guess is that you are not in the top row. ;) Are you next to the last in the center row? What wonderful looking young men! I'm not overly impressed with those blazers, but the boys make them look good!

Nancy J said...

And there,I thought I had changed a lot,, well done Georgia. And yes, across 3 generations, well, 4 if I include my Mum, I'll add some words to my post, edit and re-post it.

Carol Mattingly said...

Such fresh young faces with bright futures ahead. Sentiments make the world a warmer place and sharing makes it so much more meaningful. Thank you for sharing this. Stay well. Carol

KB said...

It must be wonderful for you to see Josh awarded with the same badge as you were. I bet your heart swelled with pride. Wonderful!

I hope that you and Hugh are well.

Leeanne said...

A wonderful happy post with so much to be happy and grateful about.

eileeninmd said...

Nice post, you must be very proud.. I would say your family believed in their dreams..have a happy day!

Jenn Jilks said...

What a beautiful post! You should be proud of yourself and your family. Just lovely.
I'm off to sit with my hospice client today. He has ALS.
Hope all is well with you and yours!
Hugs, & talk later!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Jean ~ What a lovely post about you and your family! Quite a few accomplishments to be proud of.

Love & hugs to you and Hugh ~ FlowerLady

Jim said...

I didn't look at any of the above guesses (if there are any) but I think you are the girl in the first row to the right.
How nice that you have these wonderful memories, Jean, and you kept that great medal/badge.
You will soon need a 'medal rack' to carry and display all these family achievement medals!!
Congratulations to all of you!

Nancy J said...

Yes, Jim, you are right, I'm second from the right in the second row, sadly some of those have gone, others not well, one friend not in the prefects and I have kept in touch since 1954!!! Long distance phone calls, visits rare, but we have shared so much over all these years.As well as being practical, resourceful, I am the " keeper" of the Black Belt standard in our family.

Michaele said...

Yes! I found you and I see you confirmed it in the comment above. I love how you tied your families accomplishments together. I am so proud for you all. Mental Health Nurse in the 1930's. I am impressed.
I will have to try to find you on Facebook.

Fundy Blue said...

I found you too, Nancy. It was your eyes that gave you away! What a lovely family history, a story of accomplishment and character! I really enjoyed learning about the then and now in your family history. What your mother achieved was super. I'm sure that she was proud of you and would have been proud of Josh, too! Take care!

Janet said...

Congratulations to Josh! You have every reason to be proud. I'm glad someone else was able to pick you out in the photo because I was having a difficult time. :)

Allie said...

Congrats to your whole family! Josh sure is a cutie!