Congratulations to the following students who have achieved their Duke of Edinburgh Awards:

Genevieve Bendall (Bronze)
Hallie Williamson (Bronze)
Kate Coutts (Bronze)
Emi O'Connor (Bronze)
Esther Steer (Bronze)
Amy Macpherson (Bronze)
Charlotte Davies (Silver)
Rebekah Murphy (Silver)
Madeline Bendall (Gold)

Here are some reflections about the award experience.

Bronze DOE: Genevieve says:

I decided to do this award to try new things and expand my horizons, the award motivated me to discover new activities, and learn new skills. For my service, I volunteered at the New Kiwi Club, an after-school programme for refugee kids, spending time hanging out with them, doing cooking, arts, crafts and sports. For sport, I played both cricket and netball. I had never played cricket before so I got to learn a completely new sport and for netball I got to develop my skills to become a better player. For my skill, I learned how to create watercolour paintings and while this was very new to me, it was made easier by following tutorials and taking my time. I did tramping for my adventurous journey, putting me right out of my comfort zone and was very challenging but also rewarding. The highlight of the award was my adventurous journey. I really enjoyed learning new skills around navigation and survival amongst beautiful scenery.

Bronze DOE: Hallie says:

I had heard about it from others that had participated in it, and it sounded awesome. I really like the idea of the 4 areas of the award, and the adventurous journeys seemed like they would be a great experience. I had friends who wanted to do the award as well, so it was good to do it at the same time. I helped with Replay, which is a charity that collects used sports gear, and then distributes it to people in the community who need it. I spent time organising gear, counting items, and sorting out spreadsheets. I also spent a day at the police station helping out with neighbourhood support, and spent another day assisting Sport Manawatu. My highlight was spending time helping others, and doing this with friends made it a really enjoyable experience. I played hockey for PNGHS this year, and logged the games that we played throughout the year. I had fun playing all of these games, and enjoyed the competition. My highlight was being part of an awesome team that supported each other. I shot smallbore rifles with a club, which involved participating in 2 10 shot matches. These matches were then scored, which contributed to the club competition. The matches gave me an opportunity to develop my shooting skills, working on breathing, positioning, and scoping skills. My highlight was being able to start scoping myself, which was fun and gave me a chance to become more independent. Our first adventurous journey was through Makahika, and it was great to plan out our journey, as well as learning about navigation, maps, packing, tents, tramping and camping. We all had great fun together in our group. We had underestimated the time that the tramp would take us, so we had to walk in the dark for a while, but our spirits stayed high. Our second journey we did through OTNZ. We walked to Powell Hut, and then went to the summit of Mt Holdsworth. This journey was also great fun, and the views from the hut were amazing. My highlight was using the navigation skills that we learnt in our training during both our journeys. My highlight would have been our practice journey. It was an amazing experience with a great group of people. I learnt new skills and got to practice these and spend time outdoors. The journey gave me an opportunity to experience new things, like camping out in the bush and using a map and compass to navigate.

Bronze DOE: Kate says:

My friends were already involved and it seemed really fun and a good way to record your progress with the activities you do. It is a really special thing to be a part of and I was really excited to learn, especially about the adventurous journeys. I helped at a charity called Replay which donates old sports equipment to kids to help people get involved in sport. I helped out with a few of my friends and some of the tasks we did include things like labelling tennis balls or sorting sprigs. For physical recreation I danced ballet, focusing on preparing for my RAD Intermediate exam. It was so cool to do this, as initially I thought the physical recreation aspect would be an obstacle for me as I’m not very sporty, but the programme is so flexible I could find something perfect for me. I acted for my skill, with a focus on preparing for my Trinity Speech and Drama exam. I had to memorise a few pieces and present them. I really love drama so I thoroughly enjoyed this. I went to Makahika for practice and training and we tramped into the ranges. It was physically engaging but mentally relaxing which was really nice. I really loved the service aspect of the award, as it was probably my first time volunteering in an organised way. I did my service with my friends and it was a really rewarding way to spend time together. It felt really good to be useful and to know you were helping others, and it was really fun!

Bronze DOE: Emi says:

I decided to do the award, as I always had a passion for sports and service to the wider community, and the Duke of Edinburgh award gave me a wonderful opportunity to further expand my knowledge and experience of these aspects. For my service, I volunteered at the Palmerston North Park run event, where I got the opportunity to meet with a variety of people who share the similar interest of running and physical fitness. I also volunteered organising the Book Discussion Group held each week at school, which was also a wonderful opportunity to make new friends from all year levels. I very much enjoyed volunteering, and with much help from my close peers and Social Studies teacher, Ms Osborne, we organised a bake sale to support girls’ education in Cambodia. I chose to do yoga as my Physical Recreation. Despite never having done yoga before, I have really enjoyed doing it as I got to increase and maintain my flexibility. For my Skill, I chose to do cookery to increase my knowledge and experience on cooking and nutrition. Undertaking this activity as a skill has really motivated me to learn more about nutrition, and I have recently completed a course offered online about nutrition. For my Adventurous Journey, I decided to go tramping at the Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre in Levin. This was my first time tramping for over 15 kilometres, and I have gained numerous skills such as: navigation, teamwork and persistence through undertaking my Adventurous Journey. However, due to the COVID interruptions, I was not able to do my Qualifying Journey, and I am very much looking forward to the next Adventurous Journeys in the near future! The highlight of my award was definitely the skills which I have gained through doing the activities. The Duke of Edinburgh award has inspired me to go out of my comfort zone, and extend my horizons, and I am very happy that I was given the opportunity to completing this award.

Bronze DOE: Esther says:

It sounded like a great opportunity to extend myself and get involved in some new activities. I also love to be a part of different programs, and I thought that Duke of Edinburgh sounded like it would be a lot of fun. I helped out with the children's program at my church. I would help with the setup of the room beforehand and prepare activities and morning tea. I would then assist the leader within the session by handing out food and running crafts. Afterwards, I would help with the pack up and often do the dishes. Sometimes I would run the data projector in the main service too. I participated in the MCA’s (Manawatu Cricket Association) winter cricket school and holiday clinic. This involved weekly practice sessions to work on specific skills and build confidence, and a two day holiday clinic. In the October holidays, I was also fortunate enough to go to Christchurch in the Manawatu Secondary Schools team. I was able to use the skills I had learnt in winter clinic in a game situation and build my confidence for the upcoming season. For my skill, I learned the piano, and worked towards my Grade Six exam, that I completed in August. I had to practice daily and have weekly lessons. To complete my exam, I had to learn three pieces, technical exercises, scales and arpeggios, and prepare for sight reading and aural tests. Even in lockdown, I continued with lessons on Zoom. This was my major activity and I spent six months on it. I completed my training and practice journey through Makahika with a group of fellow year ten students. We spent two days learning skills around bushcraft and survival and then spent one night in the bush on a tramp. For my qualifying journey, me and a group completed a tramp up to Mount Holdsworth in the Tararua Ranges, staying overnight at Powell Hut. We were fortunate enough to make it to the summit, and experience the achievement of climbing a mountain. My highlight of the journey was definitely the adventurous journeys. It was a completely new experience for me as I had never tramped before, but one I ended up enjoying. I did all of my journeys with the same group, and by the time we had finished we got to know one another very well. Sometimes I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but all of this made me stronger, and I can now do things I would never have believed I could do before starting.

Bronze DOE: Amy says:

I decided to do this award because it was recommended by my father who completed it himself when he was younger. He said that it was a great opportunity to build friendship and create memories, as well as gaining skills. I volunteered weekly on Mondays at the ‘New Kiwi Kids Club’, an organisation that welcomes local refugee children to come after school to the Te Arohanoa centre to play and have some afternoon snacks. I often played soccer with the young boys on the field, and occasionally helped make pancakes. My physical recreation was badminton. I played weekly in the Thursday Night League at the arena. I was in a team of four, with players that I previously knew from U15 reps. We played three doubles games against teams who were usually adults, but sometimes children. The skill that I practiced was piano. I have been taking lessons and practicing pieces for my exam that is held next year around July. I often practiced at home, but sometimes in the school’s music studios during lunch. For my adventurous journey, my friends and I did an overnight tramp in the Tararua ranges through an organisation called OTNZ. We stayed overnight at the Powell Hut, which was surprisingly very tidy and well equipped. On our first day, we tramped to the hut with our full packs. After we arrived, we left half of our gear and continued tramping to the summit of Mt Holdsworth, which due to the fog, had bad visibility at the time. We were very lucky because despite it being the middle of winter, it was very warm like a nice summer’s day. We enjoyed very much of the experience and look forward to our Silver adventurous journey. The highlight of this award was building strong friendships with my class friends during our adventurous journey. During our journey, we relied on each other to bring certain gear, and to navigate our way through unfamiliar tracks. We faced many challenges and worked our way around it together. By helping and supporting each other, we were able to achieve our goal, not as an individual but as a team.

Silver DOE: Charlotte says:

I decided to do the award because I wanted to push my boundaries and accomplish something I could be proud of. I thought this award would be perfect because of the amazing opportunities it offers and because it got me to try new things. For my service, I volunteered at the Hokowhitu Brownies. For my physical recreation, I participated in Tae-Kwon Do, and for my skill I learned the bagpipes. Completing three tramps in various parts of the Tararuas and Ruahines were a highlight of my award. I really enjoyed going on adventures both with people I knew and people I didn't know. I was able to meet new people and learn new skills whilst spending time in the beautiful New Zealand bush.

Gold DOE: Madeline says:

The Duke of Edinburgh award gave me the opportunity to get involved in new things and push my boundaries. I’ve learnt so much from it, and genuinely grown as a person. I volunteered at the Esplanade Scenic Railway, where I got to be a train guard and cashier. I tramped in the Tararuas and met new people. I took cardio classes at the gym, developed my cooking skills, and learnt how to cook a variety of new dishes. The highlight of the award for me was going to the Summer Science Camp at the University of Canterbury because it was inspiring and so much fun and I met people from all over the country and realised that the University of Canterbury is where I want to go next year.