CAPTAINS' CORNER
WHAT COVID HAS TAUGHT ME
McKinnon Secondary have had and continue to offer quite a few extracurricular activities and some great camp experiences which I have been lucky enough to experience during my last six years at the school.
Some of these were: The Great Victorian Bike ride, Central Australia Camp and an East Timor Camp, McKinnon Run, Triathlon, Year 11 Peer Support, before school running club and Chess Cub which for me was totally out of my comfort zone but a great experience. Then all of a sudden in 2020 most of these experiences were halted due to Covid.
When Covid hit over two years ago it brought its own challenges to us all and halted a lot of our in school and out of school activities and experiences. For me, this was hard and reinforced to me, to do what you can, when you can, as you never know what is around the corner which is now a philosophy I intend to follow on with throughout life.
Even though I missed out on nearly two years of added school experiences, I am so pleased I did what I did when I could and have these memories with me forever.
As I am nearing the end of my high school years, I reflect on what our school has offered me and I’m so pleased to have experienced so much in our school community and thankful for what McKinnon Secondary has given me.
So please embrace any opportunity that may come your way no matter how big or small. Take a chance and don’t be afraid to give it a go!
Matthew Day
Senior Captain
YEAR 9 ENGLISH GUEST SPEAKERS
As part of Year 9 English this year, we have been studying ‘In My Blood It Runs’, a documentary that follows the life of an Indigenous Arrernte/Garrwa boy named Dujuan. This documentary focuses on the troubles Dujuan faces with welfare and police as a result of being an Indigenous child that is only curious about the world around him.
Throughout the duration of the documentary, we are shown the negative learning outcomes Indigenous children face as a result of the obvious lack of cultural respect the education system proves to show for First Nations people. We are taught about the complex daily struggles that are faced within Indigenous communities which lead us to the message we received from our special guest speakers.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 7 June, the Year 9 cohort was privileged to be joined by two special speakers, Jane Vadiveloo, founding CEO of Children's Ground, and William Tilmouth, a First Nations man of Arrentre descent. During this special presentation, we were taught about the unjust life that is lived by Indigenous Communities across the country, as well as the horrific trauma that has been faced by William and the thousands of others that were a part of the stolen generation.
It was truly eye opening to discover the appalling racism, conditions and inequitable events that occur everyday against the traditional owners of our land which is why it is of the utmost importance that we recognise the role we play in ending the societal division that is present between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Amelie Hicks
Junior Captain