Upham House ANZAC Assembly 2024
Posted on May 15, 2024
On Tuesday 30 April Upham House observed its annual ANZAC Day assembly.
This year Upham House welcomed honourable guest speakers; Madeleine East, Adele White and James Hannah from the Howick RSA Poppy Trust. Macleans College Principal, Steven Hargreaves, and members of the Senior Leadership Team also attended the formal assembly.
Niko McConnell and Jennifer Luo, the Upham House service captains, opened the assembly, reminding the whānau of the significance of ANZAC Day to Upham House in particular. Charles Upham personified the values of consideration for others, self discipline, sacrifice, selflessness and loyalty; values that the students and teachers of the house, to this day, work to uphold. The heroic nature of Charles Upham was echoed by the Upham House captains, Selina Liu and Davin Burn, as they continued the assembly by discussing the importance of support for the Returned Servicemen’s Association (RSA) which is Upham House’s official charity.
In order to pay homage to the spirit of ANZAC, House sports captains, Lily West and Yazan Saleh read a powerful and sombre ANZAC dedication. Upham cultural captains, Quinn Zhong and Amber Ho, continued the student-led part of the assembly with an encouraging talk about the aim of the poppy appeal this year and the need for veteran support throughout New Zealand. Finally, Joshua Tao and Chloe Lam, Upham’s academic captains, read the honour roll for the Howick/ Pakuranga area for World War One and World War Two which was a chilling and humbling reminder of the self-sacrificial bravery of the ANZACS.
In closing, Madeleine East discussed the work of the Poppy Trust and the significance of Upham House’s charitable contribution to the Trust whilst James Hannah spoke about his family’s fascinating close connection to the Upham family. Hannah’s father had been a medic who had helped to save Charles Upham’s life after he was injured in World War Two. His father is mentioned in Charles Upham’s biography, ‘The Mark of the Lion’. Students and teachers felt privileged for the time and consideration that the speakers afforded them at this special annual assembly. As a symbolic gesture of respect, Oscar and Caitlin, two peer support leaders, laid wreaths to honour the soldiers on the honour roll. Oscar then read the Ode in Te Reo and English.
The assembly concluded with the bone-chilling and iconic ‘Last Post’ played by Timothy Chang from Mansfield House, and a minute’s silence in recognition of our soldiers was observed.
Thank you to Ms Chan See, for organising a wonderful morning tea for the guests which was enjoyed after the assembly.
