REMEMBERANCE DAY

The guns fell silent on the Western Front at 11am on the 11th of November 1918. In 1919, Britain's King George V proclaimed two minutes of silence at 11am on 11th November. At the appointed hour, people around Australia gathered before local memorials and paused together in common reflection, remembering the dead and beginning a tradition that has endured for more than a century. 

As a school and a community, we come together each year to remember the efforts and sacrifices of Australians who fought to allow us to have the life we do today. 

Ms Haeusler, Ms Howison and 2024 College Captains Otto Conlan, Jack Helgeland and Sofie Mazzotta will represent St Mary MacKillop College at the Swan Hill Service and lay a wreath.

As a part of our school service this week, students heard a reflection from past student Ethan Griffiths, who graduated in 2017 and went on to enlist.

Although I acknowledged the importance of Remembrance Day when I was younger, I didn’t have a true connection to it. After joining the Army, Remembrance Day was one of the few days a year where I was forced to look at my profession and recognise the sacrifice of those who came before me. That being said, I don’t think you need to join the military to understand the significance of Remembrance Day. A lot of the opportunities I had as a student came directly from the sacrifices of the Australian soldiers, whether or not I was aware of or thankful for them. Although I’ve since left the full-time Army to study law, I still parade every week as an Army reservist, and the significance of Remembrance Day has not faded from my mind. As I write this, Remembrance Day is a day where I acknowledge the soldiers who gave their lives so I had the chance to freely choose what I wanted to do with mine.

The Ode of Remembrance has been recited to commemorate wartime service and sacrifice since 1921.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning 

We will remember them."

We will remember them.

Lest we Forget