On Saturday 14th February, the class of 1965 gathered for a mini-reunion.

For some of the 55 people that attended the reunion of the class of 1965, it had been 60 years since they had last been to Te Aroha College. Paul Hutchinson and small group of contemporaries set about organising a get-together for their cohort about two years ago. Interest quickly grew and as mentioned 55 people attended the reunion.

The day started with everyone meeting at the school and a brief presentation about what the 2025 version of Te Aroha College looks like. This was followed by a tour of the school led by school student leaders. There was lots of reminiscing and it was so good to hear the stories that were told on the day.

One of the classic comments was when someone looked at C Block and mentioned that "that building wasn't there in my day".

After spending time at the school attendees had lunch at the RSA and then spent time looking a various changes to the town.

My big message for these former students was that this is still very much their school. All former students play an important part in the schools history and I expressed my thanks to them for taking the time to return to their former school.

After the weekend, Paul reflected that it had been a great time and everyone was so pleased to have made the effort to attend and reconnect.