Speech
Silverstream School Library Opening
To Mary Ely, Principal and to the staff of Silverstream School, to Michele McIlraith, Assistant Principal and Teacher in charge of the Library, to Greg Main, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and to members of the Board, to Your Worship Wayne Guppy, Mayor of Upper Hutt City, to past and present students, staff and parents, to you, the boys and girls, who will be the new library’s first users and to all the supporters of Silverstream School tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa - good morning to you all.
I am honoured to be asked here today to officially open your new library. Thank you for your very warm welcome and for the beautiful flowers. We all join in the sense of celebration and excitement for the opening of the new library for Silverstream School which I’m looking forward to seeing.
Libraries are very special places. If you have been into a library before, which I am sure most of you will have been, the first thing that you will notice is that it is very quiet. That is because people are lost in the world of the book that they are reading.
Yes I know that Harry Potter makes good movies but I love first reading the book and imagining the characters and the setting. Don’t you? Yes I know that on television you can see good programmes about how machinery is made or how people came to our country but in a book you can find out at your own speed and look back if there is something you did not fully understand the first time.
The next thing that you will notice in a library is that there are books everywhere! There will be books on your favourite animal, on trees, on different countries around the world, and there will certainly be story books. Is there anyone here that has heard of the Dr. Suess books “The Cat in the Hat” or “Green Eggs and Ham”?
Dr. Suess knew how important reading is and once said:
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
Reading is one of the most important things you can do. The motto of this school is ‘Learners motivated to achieve and succeed’. Each of you students has begun a journey of learning here at Silverstream School. One day you will attend an Intermediate School, then you will go on to College, and then more learning. Through this exciting journey, one of the things that will always remain important is to read as many book as you can get your hands on. You will come to understand the old phrase ‘the joy of learning’.
Your new library will provide you with the books and things you need to enjoy reading and to learn. I hope that each young lady or young man here will enjoy being in and using this new library.
I would now like to praise everybody who has been involved in the fundraising for this new library. It is not an easy thing to do, especially in the current economic climate, so I salute all those people for working towards the goal which has resulted in your school’s new library.
Our special thanks for a concerted vision and planning goes to the Silverstream School Board of Trustees, teachers, and to students and parents, past and present. I would also like to warmly thank the local businesses that have been so supportive of this project. Without your combined efforts, this library would not have been possible.
I wish you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours - no reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.