Grandma Celebrates Grandson's Journey from Kamo to London

When Jackson Hunter returned to Whangārei from London last week, his grandmother Gwendolyn Needham asked him about the people who shaped his childhood. His answer reveals something beautiful about what great teaching can do.

"I remember every teacher, first at Ngunguru Primary, then Kamo High School," Jackson told her. "We respected them all."

That respect paid off. At 16, Jackson earned Dux of Kamo High School in 2005, taking home excellence awards in chemistry and mathematics. Today he works a significant job in London with his English wife, but he came home to reconnect with the community that built him.

Gwendolyn keeps his achievement story in a scrapbook labeled "Good People Doing Kind Things." Inside are newspaper clippings, thank you notes from grandchildren, and stories of strangers making a difference. It's her personal archive of hope, proof that kindness and achievement live all around us.

She baptized 10 of her 12 grandchildren in historic Anglican churches, calling it "giving them roots and wings." The metaphor fits perfectly. To fly high and achieve, young people need sound foundations and beliefs that anchor them when the world shifts.

Sunny's Take

Gwendolyn connects her grandson's success to Whangārei's own motto: "non solum nobis," meaning "not to ourselves alone." The phrase appears on the city's 1966 Coat of Arms, which shows kauri trees, dairy cows, ships, and a Māori warrior. Each symbol tells a story of community working together.

That shared responsibility matters more than ever in 2026. Technology brings instant global connection and artificial intelligence, but human nature stays the same. We all need purpose, peaceful belonging, and love.

Parents and teachers remain the building blocks of society, Gwendolyn writes. A better future depends on what and how they teach children. She believes in HI over AI: Human Intelligence, the kind that comes from caring adults raising healthy communities together.

Jackson's journey from Ngunguru Primary to London proves her point perfectly.