Cricket Development Tour 2018 

Game 10 vs Hoërskool Menlo Park 1st XI at Menlo Park – 15/10/18

After two days of rest and recuperation at the idyllic Shakama Game Lodge, it was always going to be a big ask to take on the South African T20 National champions on their home ground. Hoërskool (High School) Menlo Park is another school with its own dedicated cricket oval which has day/night facilities and sumptuous clubhouse.

On winning the toss, captain, Bryn Wilson elected to bat on a wicket which had suffered a drenching from a typical Highveld thunderstorm the previous day. Both opening batsmen got their heads down and worked hard in the face of the traditionally hostile and accurate South African opening bowlers. This resistance somewhat blunted the attack but scoring was slow. The loss of 3 wickets brought together Curtis Heaphy and Sam Russell, who were able to manipulate the field and accelerate the scoring with some good running and some lusty blows from Sam. After Sam’s dismissal, Curtis was able to remain in control and feed the strike to big-hitting Max Harris (19 from 15) and Mitch Leach (19 from 13), to set up a score of 167 all out in the final (40^th) over. Sam Russell scored 29 and Curtis Heaphy 59.

The Menlo Park innings started with the hosts proving their credentials as SA T20 champions, scoring 15 runs in the first 2 overs. This attitude did present some chances and the PNBHS fielders gratefully accepted some of these, to take 2 early wickets. This, however, brought 2 more aggressive batsmen to the crease and in a display of power hitting, the opposition managed to pass the Boys’ High score in the 25^th over with 4 wickets down. Jack Wenham took 2 for 50 in his allotted 8 overs.

After the traditional post-match formalities, the touring team treated the hosts to a stirring school Haka, which many recognised from the previous week’s All Black match on TV. The staff at Menlo Park were so moved that they invited the team to perform the haka at the following morning’s school assembly in front of 1500 pupils. This proved to be very popular amongst the locals who saw it as a privilege to witness the passion of the touring team.

OK Chorale 25th reunion concert - Saturday, October 27, 7.30pm at the Salvation Army Citadel. Come and see performances from past and present OK Chorale's, PNBHS Stage Band and some solo items. Come along for an evening of high-quality entertainment, gold coin entry.

PNBHS Fred Hollows Day - tomorrow, Wednesday, October 24
Annually we hold a PNBHS 'Fred Hollows Day' to raise funds to support the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation. Fred Hollows is an Old Boy of Palmerston North Boys' High School and was one of the inaugural inductees into our Business Alumni. The foundation that bears his name has been responsible for helping to restore the sight of many thousands of people worldwide. Please support the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation by making a donation as you enter assembly (or at the main school office), buying a sausage at lunchtime or by making a donation to try out the cataract glasses and participate in the activities at lunchtime tomorrow.

Welcome to our 2019 Year 9 cohort, many of whom have been in at school during the week for entry testing.  We look forward to seeing you and your parents next Thursday, October 25th, 7.00pm in the school hall, for our Orientation evening.

Staff v Prefects Football

Wednesday 17 October saw the annual Staff v Prefects Football match in good conditions on the school field. Congratulations to the staff who won the match 2-0. 

Congratulations to Year 13 student Jack Scrimshaw, who during the school holidays competed in the New Zealand Wrestling championships held in Dunedin where he defended his New Zealand Greco Roman title winning Gold and placing second in the Freestyle competition for Silver.

Inter-Secondary Schools Inter-Island Smallbore Shooting match in Rangiora

Clay Target Shooting Nationals

10 of our shooters travelled to Christchurch at the start of the holidays for three days of shooting. This included the South Island DTL champs on Saturday, the National DTL champs on Sunday then the South Island and National Skeet champs on Monday. There were a little over 300 shooters and 60 teams from approximately 40 schools represented.

After a rather slow start to the season, our lads had been shooting much more consistently in recent times. There was some confidence that if all five shooters in the A Team could pull it together on the same day, we could do well.

The South Island DTL Championships:

Saturday dawned fine, sunny and still - perfect shooting conditions. The first event - Single Rise - did not go well with most of the boys dropping at least one target. The team event - Points Score - also went poorly with the boys putting up a score that was well below their best. Initially, this seemed pretty bad, but by the end of the day there was a growing realisation, by almost all of the competitors and teams in attendance, that scores were not were they should be. Everyone was shooting below par! Was this due to the cheap targets the club had chosen to use for the weekend? More on that later.

National Championships:

Sunday was almost a carbon copy of Saturday with only a couple of lads shooting ‘possibles’ in any one event and our A team seemingly well off the pace in the teams event. Like Saturday, our final total was not that far behind other Super 8 schools who are usually right in contention.

Among the few individual highlights were Max Edwards and Reagan Shaw ( Reagan captaining our B team ) who made the five person Wellington region rep team. These are selected by Fish and Game region, hence we are part of the wider Wellington Area.

More impressively, Max Edwards was again selected in the five person North Island DTL team.

North Island and New Zealand Skeet:

Monday saw the boys stay on for both the South Island and New Zealand Skeet Championships. Henry Bennik shot well in the South Island event placing 2nd boys. He and Max Edwards were in contention for the two-man-teams event but were pipped at the post in a ‘count back’ - as there was no time to run shoot offs because people had to leave and catch planes.

On reflection, the entire weekend was not as positive as we would have hoped. This was the first time in six years that we did not finish in the top five teams. Yes, the cheap Spanish targets did not help, but everyone there shot them - so we can only compare our outcomes with those we consider our like. While our team totals were disappointing, they were only 15 – 20 points ( out of 300 ) behind the schools we usually compare ourselves to. While only the top three teams are officially ranked, we would still be comfortably in the top 15 – 20 teams nationwide.

- By Mr Higgie. 

Winning Winter Code Presentations  

It was our pleasure to have Mr. Jackson Hemopo at assembly this morning to present certificates and trophies to the 21 captains of team's who won their respective competitions this year. 

Mr. Hemopo attended Boys’ High from 2007-2011 and proved himself an excellent all-rounder throughout his time here. He attained solid academic results, but it was in the sporting arena that he performed with particular distinction.

As a Year 12 pupil Mr. Hemopo achieved the rare feat of representing three first teams: Premier A Basketball, for whom he had made his debut in Year 10, the 1st XV Rugby team and the Senior A Volleyball team. He also represented the school at the MISSA Athletics Championships; he was Senior High Jump champion in 2010 and runner-up in the Senior Discus.

In his final year, Mr. Hemopo was a School Prefect, a Mentor to a junior class, he was Deputy Club Captain of Kia Ora, who have of course enjoyed much success in the Shand Shield in recent years. He focused on Rugby, where he was one of six Boys’ High players to make the Hurricanes Schools team, although he was also Senior Discus champion and runner-up in the High Jump.

Upon leaving Boys’ High, Mr. Hemopo ventured south to Dunedin and in 2014 he was selected for the Otago NPC team, for whom he would play two seasons before returning to play for the Turbos in 2016.

He was selected for the Highlanders during the 2015 Super Rugby season, making his debut against the Blues. His eye-catching performance in the Highlanders’ victory against the touring British and Irish Lions, where he was noted as “one to watch for the future” , furthered his cause, and he was subsequently selected for the New Zealand Maori side that toured Canada and France at the end of last year.

In the series against France in June of this year, Mr. Hemopo was called into the All Blacks squad and made his debut in the third match of that series, in Dunedin, thus becoming Palmerston North Boys’ High School’s 15^th All Black. He has just returned from the All Blacks’ trip to Argentina and South Africa where he played his second match for the All Blacks in their win over the Pumas in Buenos Aires.

It was our pleasure to have Mr. Hemopo with us today to make the presentations to our winning winter code team captains and we wish him all the best with his future endeavours.