SONday Funday

Fishing, tennis, woodwork, boat building, classic cars and a BBQ!

Originally planned for the end of March, bad weather saw this day of ‘boy-centric’ fun rescheduled for Term 2. Sonday Funday was all about dads and their sons spending some quality – if albeit competitive! – ‘boy-time’ with their sons, before being joined by the rest of their families for a BBQ and prizegiving later in the day.

With so many of the school family events cancelled over the course of the last 12 months, it was fantastic to be able to bring our Boys’ School community together and once again consider how fortunate we are in New Zealand to be blessed with the ability to gather as a large group without restrictions.

We weren’t, however, exactly blessed with the weather second time around! On a very ‘brisk’ day, activities got underway in brilliant sunshine, before the weather started to close in and the rain fell. The blustery winds out on the Gulf curtailed much of the fishing.

Whilst the day was about having fun, the competitive spirit was never far away and the desire to win was as evident amongst the dads as their sons!

Each father and son pairing had the opportunity to sign up for one event from the choice of fishing, a tennis competition per syndicate, a ‘Bob the Builder’ Planter Box Challenge or a ‘Bob the Builder’ Corflute boat building challenge for the ‘Cassie Cup.’ In some cases, mums stepped in to offer their talents!

It was an early start for those who chose fishing, with the competition getting underway at 5.30am to vie for the largest fish caught and the overall best average weight for the catch. Competitors were encouraged to send in photos from the water, just to ensure their catch was genuine and they hadn’t ducked to the supermarket on the way back to school!

Tennis was an all-day competition divided into the three syndicate age groups – Junior, Middle and Senior – with dads and sons, and mums and sons, playing in pairs. The competition was keen as the mixed pairings concentrated on every shot!

In addition to prizes based on results, the fishermen and tennis players were also encouraged to ‘dress up’ with prizes for the best dressed and best team name! They clearly had a lot of fun deciding what to wear!

There were two very different building projects to enter with equally keen ‘Bob the Builders’ both big and small for each project. Wood, nails, screws, a screwdriver, a handsaw, tape measure and a drill (for adults’ use only) were supplied for the planter project, with each team member, dad and son, required to handle each tool to be eligible for a prize. Decorations, without the need to paint, were encouraged, as were providing soil and plants for the finished effect. As well as the tidiest build and most creative planter box, there was an additional prize for the team showing the best teamwork and collaboration.

The Cassie Cup was probably the biggest challenge of the day as there were so many ‘unknowns’ to contend with – not the least being, would it float?! Teams were supplied with two sheets of corflute (think real-estate signs) and tape, with the challenge to create a boat that the son could propel across the pool. Time taken and how dry the ‘sailor’ remained were conditions for prizes, along with teamwork and collaboration. Designs were varied with an equal variation of success when it came to staying afloat! Keeping the sailor dry proved a challenge as they were carefully lifted into position on the boat and there was much hilarity as they valiantly battled the blustery wind to row across the pool – surprisingly, only two or three sank!

Throughout the day, a range of classic cars were on display and we are very grateful to those families and staff members who offered their cars to be on display all day.

The day ended with a weigh in for the fishing competition and a prizegiving. Unfortunately, the weather precluded the planned family picnic, but the Parents and Friends fired up the barbecue and with the addition of food trucks on site, there was plenty to eat to end the day.

Although hampered by the weather conditions, this clearly has all the makings of a great day of activity and we look forward to the opportunity to organise a similar day out during the summer months – so start honing your building skills and mark out the best fishing spots for next year’s prizes!

Our sincere thanks to Amanda Burn and Christie Dunwoodie who organised and ran the tennis competition, Michael Hewes who coordinated the classic cars for viewing, the generosity of Chesters Plumbing & Bathroom Centre for the Fishing prizes and Scott McFarlane from Proclean for donating the Car Grooming Prize for the peoples’ choice award. A special thanks to our Parents and Friends for manning the barbecue, that staff who came in for the day – and especially our very special school families who ignored the weather forecast and came along to enjoy the events!

SONDAY FUNDAY WINNERS