Our school was widely represented at a number of ANZAC services over the last week.
We began with our Year 6 students travelling to Ringwood lake to take part in the Legacy Schools’ Service. Our captains laid a wreathe and the students grew their knowledge of the sacrifice of those men and women who fought in various battles to keep us safe.
On Friday it was my privilege to take the School Captains, Vice Captain and House Captains to the Shrine of Remembrance. It was the 83rd year of the Legacy Schools’ service. The students witnessed a fly over from the RAAF Museum, saw the Melbourne Boys’ High School cadets, listened to the choirs from Mac Robertson Girls’ High and Melbourne Boys High and heard the winner of the ANZAC day public speaking competition. Although the weather was a little dreary the students learnt a great deal of being at such a significant venue. Our school Captains laid a wreathe along with hundreds of other schools.
On Sunday a small but enthusiastic group of the school choir sang at the Croydon RSL Service. The school also laid a wreathe at the memorial outside the library. I was extremely proud of their efforts and we received many positive comments. The students were then welcomed to the RSL for afternoon tea.
On Monday the School Captains and Vice Captain and I walked over to the memorial in the centre of the roundabout. We spoke about the names of the Croydon residents who gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep them safe. Mrs Hughes grandfather is one of the names mentioned. We laid a wreathe on behalf of the school community at the memorial.
Then on Monday afternoon we had the official unveiling of our memorial plinth. The plinth is part of the Centenary of the ANZACS. We were fortunate to get a grant from Veterans’ Affairs to install it. The black granite is called Grandee granite It was selected by the RSL to ensure Australian granite was used. It is from the Mulyandry district, which is situated between Forbes and Grenfell townships in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. It is a high density stone with its distinct colour and grain structure and is renowned for its strength and durability. We were extremely lucky to gain the last of the stone from this quarry before it was closed.
We were grateful to have Micahel Sukkar and John Woolhouse from the RSL to take part in our ceremony.
All staff have ensured that the students understand the importance of ANZAC day and have undertaken activities appropriate to the students understanding.
Julie Gilbert, Principal