From the Deputy Principal 

In the words of an Alumni member

As you know, on May 5 we celebrated our 18th year as Moama Anglican Grammar and 17 years as a school with students and a community. We are now “old enough” to have an Alumni that have gone on to create wonderful futures for themselves. Hearing about their journeys beyond school is what inspires our current students to develop skills and confidence to, in turn, help create their future. As our Mission statement says; our school aims: To provide a safe and inspiring educational environment that equips students with the skills and confidence to help create their future. Our wonderful Alumni are proof of how well we are doing this.

One of the special parts of our Foundation Day Assembly is having one of our Alumni speak to the students about their journey after finishing school. This year Emma Lewis (nee Perry) who graduated from our school in 2011 spoke at this year’s Foundation Day. Her speech is reproduced below with permission. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed hearing it on May 5.

Hello everyone! How wonderful it is to stand here looking at all these faces and futures all in one space! I am so grateful to Mrs Kemp for reaching out to ask me to speak here today. Kind of flattered, and at the same time, writing speeches and public speaking is not my jam, certainly wasn’t while I was back in secondary school anyway. So here I am sitting with that anxiety and moving forward. There are so many opportunities out there for self-growth and for me, I guess this is one of them. As my friend Andrea would say “it’s all part of the journey”. 

My journey at Moama Anglican Grammar started in 2006, so long ago! When the iPhone wasn’t really a thing yet and neither was Instagram. The school was in its second year of existence and consisted of a few demountables next to the community Gym - how far the school has come! 

As a student I went ok at most subjects, LOVED maths and art. I wasn’t meant to be an academic superstar… but I still hold the grammar’s Discus throwing record for under 14 girls. Unsure if it got broken this year! 

When I finished at the grammar, I posed the idea of a gap year to mum and dad…..yeah, the answer was a hard no! So, I went straight to Uni at Latrobe Bendigo and completed my Bachelor of Nursing. As a little aside, for those close to making big choices about their direction, whether that be university, please know that once you’re in the front door, it’s so easy to just step across into a different course. Avenues like Social work, Nursing and Podiatry (the list goes on) all share a similar first year. If you’re putting in the hard work but it’s not resonating with you, switch to another stream. 

After I finished Uni, I got a grad year at Echuca Regional Health. I’ve now been there for seven years, my current role as Associate Nurse Unit Manager. I lead a stellar bunch of nurses both male and female. I thrive on challenging myself every shift. Sometimes it’s complete chaos and sometimes things go smoothly. I try to be at peace whichever direction my day goes. 

Now, every person has a passion, something that lights them up, can lose track of time doing. I encourage you to find yours. For me that’s art. For a while there my art took a back seat, but I was encouraged to get back into it by my now husband over a casual conversation over dinner and I slowly got back into it. I really feel like it was meant to be. Consequently, I took up the invitation for the Alumni/past students to participate in the art show at the end of last year - what an amazing opportunity. It was so lovely to see, not only pieces from current students, but from past students who still have art as a passion. I saw Mrs Kemp there, had a great connection, which probably lead to this moment. To quote Peter Crone “what happened, happened, and couldn’t have happened any other way…why?… because it didn’t”.

One thing I learned while I was at the grammar. Going a bit left field with this one, but it’s what still stands out for me after 10+ years and not the best memory. There will always be someone better than you. It’s probably just natural when you go to a school like this where a lot of gifted people gravitate to. Now that’s not to diminish your achievements. Celebrate them, share them with your family and friends. Perhaps, more importantly, share the failures too; what did you learn, get back up and do it again. You don’t get anywhere in Call of Duty or Red Dead Redemption without dying a few hundred times first. That grit and determination for high performance will get you so much further in life. Thankyou.

Mrs Kathleen Kemp

Deputy Principal