DUX: Joshua Looker

Head Boy, Joshua is a self-motivated and diligent student who has received many awards for excellence during his time at the Boys’ School.  Joshua received high distinctions in the ICAS competition for mathematics, English and science in 2012 and has been awarded the honour of first in class every year since 2008 when he was in Year 4.  In 2012 Joshua received Principal’s Honours in science, was awarded the Connell Cup for the top academic score in mathematics and science, the Dr Deborah Quilter Cup for competence and diligence music and the Foundation Pupil Cup for Dux of the School. He is also a talented musician and playing the saxophone, he has been awarded Gold medals at the Lewis Eady competitions. This year he achieved his Gold service award.

PROXIME ACCESSIT: Jacob Lerner

Deputy Head Boy, Jacob is a talented student who has a highly analytical mind, allowing him to gain a deep understanding of complex issues. He has received many academic awards during his time at the Boys’ School. This year Jacob received Principal’s Honours for English, the class prize for Christian Education, the French Language prize, first in class and the Jubilee Cup for Proxime Accessit. His willingness to be of service to others was rewarded when he became the first recipient of the Saint Kentigern Gold service award. At prizegiving he was awarded the Joel Campbell Memorial trophy for service to others. Jacob is a strong public speaker, twice winning class speech competitions has been involved in a number of sporting codes including tennis, hockey, and sailing.

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Over the course of three mornings at the end of term, the families of our Junior, Middle and Senior School students, along with invited guests, gathered in the JC Chalmers Hall to congratulate this year’s prize winners for their academic, cultural and sporting success.

In his opening address each morning, Chairman of the Trust Board, Dr Bruce Goodfellow reflected back on the year and thanked the parents ‘who entrust their sons to us.’ He acknowledged the vital role that our parents play in supporting and encouraging their children and their contribution to the life of the School.

At the Junior Prizegiving, we welcomed back former Principal, Mr Geoff Burgess, along with Head of Primary, Mrs Sandra Hastie and member of the Trust Board, Dr John Kernohan to present the prizes. This year Reuben Black, Robert Foy, Ethan Stilwell, Matthew Keyte, Fynn Rowntree and Benjamin Wilson received the Christian Living Awards and George Beca was awarded the Brian Matthews Citizenship Cup.

Each morning the new Principal, Mr Peter Cassie addressed the boys and their parents telling each gathering that he felt honoured and privileged to have been appointed to a ‘school with real heart.’ He said that in his short time at the School he had already established that, without exception, the staff are a passionate, hard-working team with the boys best interests at heart. He has found the boys to be honest, courteous and excited to see what each day at school brings; he encouraged them to continue to make the most of every opportunity.

At the Senior School Prizegiving, Mr Cassie acknowledged the part that technology is now playing in both education and our daily lives, suggesting that we cannot begin to imagine what will be available to our sons in 5-10 years’ time and that knowing this, the best we can do for them is to encourage their ability to readily adapt to change. He continued that ‘While academic programmes are a priority it is also critical that we provide cultural, physical and spiritual opportunities for our boys ensuring that they receive a holistic education that will prepare them for the challenges of life.’

Each morning we enjoyed entertainment from our many accomplished musical groups including the Recorder Consort, Celtic Minstrels, All Comers’ Choir, the Performers’ Choir, the Symphonic Orchestra and the Jazz Band.

We thank Trust Board member, Murray King, retiring staff member, Mr David Miles, and Mrs Sandra Hastie for presenting the prizes at Middle School Prizegiving, and Trust Board member, Mrs Rosemary Harris, along with Mr Burgess and Mrs Hastie, for presenting the prizes at Senior School Prizegiving.

Scott Puni was the recipient of the Junior Citizenship Cup at Middle School Prizegiving and William O’Rourke was awarded Middle School Sportsman of the Year. Stephen Cho and Max Barr have been awarded academic scholarships for their final two years at the School.

In one of his speeches Mr Cassie said, ‘For individual successes to be achieved there has to be a challenging yet competitive environment that brings out the best in all students.’ There is no doubt that this environment has been achieved in the Senior School where the students strived for the highest accolades. Hunter Williams received the Senior Citizenship Cup; Benjamin Fleming, the Rex Hooton Cup for School Spirit and Nicholas Barr the Ross Perry Cup for Senior Sportsman of the Year. In the closest of results, Deputy Head Boy, Jacob Lerner was awarded Proxime Accessit and the Joel Campbell Memorial Trophy,’ and Joshua Looker was named Dux for 2012.

Joshua was also awarded an academic scholarship to the College along with Stuart Blakey who was awarded the Sesquicentennial Scholarship. Ethan Blight will attend the College on a Music Scholarship and Fraser Hamilton who has been awarded the Sports Scholarship.

Joshua gave his final speech as Head Boy before the new leadership team for 2013 was announced. Head Boy will be Edward Wilkes with Ronan Clune as his Deputy.

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