Last Tuesday, History students from SBHS and AGHS visited Waitākiri Primary along with members and the President of the Canterbury Returned Services Association (RSA). The students ran three workshops to teach the significance of ANZAC Day to a group of year 5 and 6 students. As part of this the students all had the opportunity to hand press their own red poppy, one Year 5 boasted making a whopping 14 poppies in just 5 minutes!

This is a pilot for a programme that the RSA are planning to roll out nationally. So it was amazing to have SBHS and AGHS students led it from the start. The students were certainly a hit with the primary students and we are already fielding calls for them to make a return this year at some stage.

Every single red poppy is made right here in Belfast. As part of our gateway programme last year, SBHS student Mekhi Halliday who has plans to join the services volunteered time each week helping with the production of over 1 million poppies for the entire country each year!

This is a video that a Year 12 student Luke Tobeck made that features Mekhi Halliday that was shown to the students, it explains how the poppies are made.

Students involved: Logan Payne, Rian Fitzsimons, Saxon Lloyd, Kun Woo Baek, Johnny Andrews, Sven Ellis, Mackie Paige, Riley Pike and Flynn Williams, Heidi Wilson, Robyn Lavender, Eva Wilson, Kayla O’Callaghan, Niamh Tarr.