From the School Captains

Softball Regionals

On 13th May, we played against four schools in our inter school sport region - McKinnon Secondary College, Mac Robertson Girls’ School, Hampton Park Secondary, and Nossal High School, winning every game! This meant we came first in our regional division, and we can thank of all our efforts to the years of playing for the school. This accomplishment felt amplified in that our final year (for some of us) has seen us advance to the State competition. It meant a lot that our team played their hardest in all our games up to this point, and our efforts paid off. We are extremely excited to announce that we will be participating in the State finals on the 30th of May, and for some of us (the Year 12s) this will be our last time playing for the team. Thanks to Mr Bales for organising all the trainings and competitions days, and Ms McLean for her constant support.  We look forward to playing some more softball very soon!

Alanna Gray and Sierra Danon

Year 12

Taking on the Challenges: School to Careers Dinner

This term on 8th May, myself and five other Year 12 students attended an inspirational seminar, held by the Rotary Club of Chadstone/East Malvern, which discussed the transition from school to career. While I was initially drawn in by the offer of a free dinner at the Matthew Flinders Hotel, I became quickly invested in the stories of all four of the panellists, and found their disparate stories of their lives after high school a gentle reminder that there is no single pathway to success. Each panellist provided such contrasting stories, it felt reassuring to see how versatile the school-to-career process is.

While one panellist immediately knew what she wanted to do after school, and has been pursuing the same goal ever since, another panellist had simply been going job to job, testing out different university courses, before ultimately landing where she is: beginning her own business. I especially enjoyed this event as it provided four guests with extremely different interests, and extremely different pathways to their careers. As someone who is entirely unsure on what she plans on doing next year - constantly switching between the desire for a gap year, or jumping straight into university, or simply trying to get more experience in the workforce - hearing stories from such different people was a kind reassurance that there is no one way to complete high school.

Furthermore, up until this event, I was entirely unaware of what Rotary clubs actually were, and I am especially delighted to now have this knowledge of all the magnificent services they provide. Hearing about all the incredible international and local humanitarian services, such as youth groups, construction services, food services, and the many other community involvements provided by this club was genuinely inspiring, and is something I hope to someday have an involvement in.

Taylor Lowery

Year 12

Athletics Day

On Wednesday 22nd May, Glen Eira College held it’s Athletics Day and, sadly, as a Year 12 student graduating at the end of the year, this was my last Athletics Day. Despite this being the final school event where my friends and I were able to dress up in our house colours and compete in sporting events, we all knew we had to go out with a bang. In the past, we have created unique costumes including the Power Puff Girls, Social Media Platforms, and Harry Potter houses - and for our final, departing costume, we opted to dress as Mario Kart characters (something that seemed especially appropriate as we ran (or “drove”) in the track races.

Although I’m not particularly athletically gifted, from Year 7 to 12 the sports carnivals have been some of my favourite days, and provided some of my best memories in this school. Entire days dedicated to friendly competition between classmates, and some magnificent costumes will always entertain me, and while I am definitely sad with this being my last Athletics Day, I am definitely excited to see the pages in our end-of-year Yearbook dedicated to these events.

This year, we were blessed with some amazing weather (something we see so rarely in Melbourne) as it was that perfect level of warm, but not so warm that the prospect of exercise seemed impossible. I ran in two events - the hundred and two hundred metres - and managed to win neither, however no one can deny that I triumphantly came 2nd in a heated card game of Uno played between myself, my friends, and others who simply just wanted in on the fun of the game. So, while I didn’t manage to win any events (or an Uno game, either), the main reason I’ll always come to these sports days is purely to dress up in fun costumes, and lay out a picnic with my friends where we’ll bring snacks or cards or even classwork - anything that gets us engaged with each other, with the added bonus of being in an outdoor, sunny environment. I am really going to miss these house competitions. I know I’m always going to look fondly at all the photos I have of my friends and I in our ridiculously fantastic costumes, and although it never happened in all my years attending high school, I do hope that someday Blue House will manage to bring home a victory.

Taylor Lowery

Year 12

ANZAC Day

This year, our ANZAC Day service was especially memorable with two wonderful speakers, Colonel Jason Cook and Mr Philip Spence. Much to our surprise, Mr Spence was an ex-Glen Eira College (or Caulfield High School, as he knew it in 1975) student who later went on to join the police force, a career which often took his duties overseas. In comparison, Col. Cook grew up in Clayton and immediately joined the Army Reserves in 1982 to later become a Colonel.

Before the ceremony itself began, the four school captains had the privilege of meeting Col. Cook and Mr Spence, and I was delighted to find out how light-hearted and cheery the two men were. Mr Spence was eager to discuss with us the changes Glen Eira College had gone through since he last attended, and shared many of his fondest memories as the delinquent, football-loving student he was before joining the Australian Federal Police in 1979. Col. Cook introduced himself as Melbourne-born, and told us just how excited he was to take part in our school ceremony.

After the students took their seats, and the catafalque party marched into position, us group of speakers left the front office and made our way towards the stage. I know I felt an immense sense of pride and importance walking towards that stage alongside the other leaders of our school, and the inspirational guest speakers. Honestly, having written this article over a month after the ceremony, I couldn’t possibly remember each individual process and order of it all, but what I do distinctly remember is the speeches given by both Col. Cook and Mr Spence, and how they introduced ideals and concepts which I had simply never thought about before, and how they genuinely provided one of my most memorable experiences with guest speakers at this school.

I remember how Mr Spence quickly gained the students' attention through sharing his past experience attending our school, but far more than that I remember how he described how detrimental the first World War had been. Asking students to look around at their peers and imagine different groups of them as dead, or injured, or simply going into the war at such a young age, Mr Spence allowed faces to be associated with statistics - rather than simply stating percentages or numbers, he encouraged the students to look around, and recognise how many real people are impacted by these conflicts in our world. Mr Spence later went on to describe the importance of the phrase ‘Lest we forget’ - and how it doesn’t simply describe that we won’t forget, however that we can’t. It acknowledges our duty as a nation to remember and commemorate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives, and that they should never be disregarded.

Of Col. Cook’s speech, the moment I remember especially clearly was he talked about the service provided by members of the armed forces, and how it is something to take pride in and be recognised for - and that one of the kindest ways to spark a conversation with many members of the field is to ask for their stories, in particular the stories behind their medals. In that moment I realised how obvious it seemed to take an interest in the medals given to these men who had done so much for our country, and yet I am so aware that when we first met the guests before the ceremony had begun, it didn’t even cross my mind. I do acknowledge now that it is something respectful to do, but furthermore it is interesting to hear about, and leads to so many great stories - and I am extremely grateful that we were able to talk to the guests after the ceremony had concluded so I had the opportunity to ask them more about their service, and their awards. After the speeches had come to an end, the laying of the wreaths by the Australian flag had begun. While I myself didn’t lay the wreath, I stood at the podium reading the ‘Ode to Remembrance’ as my fellow captains, guest speakers, Connor McCaskie, and Mr Hamer-Smith walked down the aisle (a pathway that was expertly created through carefully placing where students sat). This was followed by a respectful minute of silence.

After the ceremony, the captains, alongside other teachers and cadets, were able to have some refreshments and continue the conversations with the two guests. Inspired by the speech of Col. Cook, I quickly became engaged in a conversation with Mr Spence discussing his medals. While the majority of his medals were received for his police work overseas, it was difficult to not be especially enthralled by his Australian Bravery Medal, something he had received for his heroic involvement during the Canberra bushfires of 2005 - a medal which only around a thousand Australians have had the privilege of receiving. I am extremely grateful to not only have attended this beautiful ANZAC ceremony, but to have also had the additional opportunities to really talk to and get to know the guest speakers who each had such inspirational and unique stories which they were eager to share.  

Taylor Lowery

Year 12