It is with a lot of reflection and remembrance that we finish this week on the 10 year anniversary of the September 7.1 earthquake that changed Christchurch, both physically and mentally. At that time we would never have thought what lay ahead of us, the challenges and the hurt. As we know, through faith and in hindsight, that through pain and suffering a new light emerges and possibilities that we would have never thought possible. Our young people who have grown amongst rebuilds and aftershakes have had to learn what resilience, positive mental health and wellbeing all feel and look like. I often look at our young people in awe at all they have encountered in their short lives and wonder how I would have handled the last 10 years in Christchurch as a teenager. What I do know is our young people value relationships, they look out for each other’s mental health and don’t place a huge value on material items, they understand the value in their friends and are always there for each other. I am very proud of the young people we have in our community.

I have been fortunate to observe our U15 rugby team participate in the quad rugby tournament in Blenheim. The team performed so well under the guidance of coaches, Kieran Coll and Paul Burton, and manager, Marty Taylor. I was most proud of the way the team conducted themselves on and off the field. The team displayed all of the values we come to celebrate so regularly - it is one thing to be a good rugby player, but a much greater goal to be good person. I know our boys understand this.

I would like to congratulate our 1st XV last week for a tremendous victory over the top of table team, St Andrews College. Our team played hard and fair throughout the full 70 minutes and came away with a dominant victory 23 to 14.

Our 1st XI football team have continued their good form as they head into the knockout phase of their competition, beating Lincoln High School 7-0. Well done to coaches Blair Scadden and Robbie Lange.