Cadets 

Meet Ridgeway Campus' Cadet Unit Leadership 

This August, the Class of 2024 took up leadership of the Ivanhoe Grammar School Cadet Unit. Work started almost straight away with Year 8 recruits training program. The Cadet Unit has been busy on Tuesday afternoons with all kinds of lessons: drill, navigation, radio and so on. This is all being done to make ready for the Bivouac being conducted over three days from Friday 8 December to Sunday 10 December. The Bivouac camp will include lots of interesting field activities and is a great way to finish off the school year. 

The Cadet Unit leadership team has been busy planning the Bivouac. During the September school holidays they met several times, including a joint Ridgeway and Plenty Campus Cadet leader meeting.  This was an opportunity to share great ideas for the Bivouac, as well as meet with the new Ivanhoe Grammar School Cadet Unit Class of 2024 Mascot CUO George Kong.   

As an Ivanhoe Grammar School first, cadet leaders have taken the initiative and designed and ordered a T-Shirt that is worn under the uniform.  On the front it has the cadet badge and on the back is the Class of 2024 logo, which features George the Mascot. 

Let us now meet the Class of 2024 Cadet Unit leaders and have them answer some questions. 

Rank & Name:  Senior Cadet Under Officer (SCUO) Lars Sveilis, Ridgeway Campus

Role: Senior Cadet responsible for leading the Ivanhoe Grammar School Cadet Unit at Ridgeway Campus 

What do you love about Cadets? 

For me the best thing is the sense of community the Cadet Unit has.  Taking part in the Cadet Program there is connection across all year levels and across both campuses. 

I loved being on Promotions Camp where I was promoted from Seargeant to CUO.  I am looking forward to my first Bivouac Camp, to meet all the Cadets and take part in all the activities. 

Rank & Name: Senior Cadet Under Officer (SCUO) Chloe Matthews, Plenty Campus

What do you love about Cadets? 

Firstly I love that you are able to become close with people of differing ages who you wouldn’t normally associate within a day to day school environment. As well as this, the cadet environment forces you to adapt to new challenges which enables self development and growth. Characteristics and skills develop to a greater extent which highlight your personal strengths and areas in which you can push yourself more throughout the program. 

Charlotte Starkey 

Year 10, Corporal

Being a corporal at Bivoac Camp 2023 was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences throughout my time in secondary school and the Cadet Program. The whole camp was a large learning experience for me, it taught me the necessary skills to help my cadets grow and it also solidified a lot of my previous knowledge. I felt that activities like the Navigation were really helpful for my leadership journey, assisting my cadets at different skills like the data sheets or how to use a compass gave me more communication skills and I felt it helped me become confident in my own leadership capabilities.   

Furthermore, we were able to have a lot of platoon-bonding experiences and was great opportunity to connect with my peers across different year levels. I got to enjoy being at Belmoral campsite, which also gave me the opportunity to speak with more people from the plenty cadet unit. This was enjoyable for me, and it made the camp meals a fun time to meet others. Overall, Bivoac camp was a gratifying and important time for me as corporal to continue to develop in Cadets and have fun!