Remembrance Day is a day we pause, reflect and give thanks for the sacrifices made by the many Australians who stood up and went to war hoping to keep our country safe and give us the freedom we have today. It is a day we give thanks and value the sacrifices made by our current Australian Defence Force members and their families continuing to help keep our own country safe as well as rebuild communities in other parts of the world suffering from the ongoing costs of conflict. This year we commemorate 75 years of peacekeeping by our Australian Defence Force.

It was great to see so many classes take on the task of making poppies. They did an amazing job of filling our garden beds near the Admin block with colour.

Red stands for Fallen Service People

Purple stands for Fallen War Animals, animals that died in the war effort, such as cavalry horses, carrier pigeons, dogs and in this case Simpson’s donkey

White stands for the casualties of war and for peace

Orange stand for Families of Service People.

Black stands for Victims of War, all those who have died/still dying due to the legacy of war

Families were also invited to provide photos of their loved ones who have served or currently serve so that we could honour them on Remembrance Day.

Students showed the utmost respect and reverence during our Remembrance Day Assembly, listening attentively to our readers, and during the minute silence, not a word was heard. It was heart-warming to see students touched by the stories of our past soldiers, and moving to hear a poem written from a student's perspective - My Dad is in the Army. I would like to thank everyone for their respectful attention.

My Dad is in the Army

Dad your life is in the forces, though in someone else’s hands

And you’re far away from all of us, in another country’s lands

Protecting other people, and we know you do your best

Your reasoning and your training mean that you’ll pass any test

Dad we at home are proud of you and all your mates as well

For you put your life at risk each day and you’ll have tales to tell

When you come home to see us Dad – and you know that we can’t wait

In my dreams I see you cross the tarmac towards the airport gate.

I love it when we talk sometimes and we tell you of our day

But you can’t be always on the phone when we have things to say

And the emails too are pretty good, but of course they’re not the same

As having you at the meal table, or to hear you speak our name

We tell you all about our friends, and what we’ve done at school

And how I learned to ride a bike, and learned to dive into the pool

Though you can’t tell us much about the things you do each day

Us kids and Mum include you every night-time as we pray

We know you will be back again and we’ll all have so much fun

And you’ll never have to see again another bomb or gun

You can take us to the beach sometimes; come to open day at school

And we’ll all go to the movies Dad - Oh it’ll be so cool

We’ve got lots of things to show you Dad, so many things we’ve done

And we’ve planted a new garden and it’s shaded from the sun

And auntie’s brand new baby girl; Dad I’m the first one that she kissed

I hope you get home really soon, for there’s so much that you’ve missed

Dad, Mum said that we’ve all been good, and I know that I’ve tried

We try to help Mum all the time, but last week Dad she cried

She was sitting by the phone dad, while she was waiting for your call

And staring at your photograph that hangs there on the wall

Dad I know you like the Army and I know you’re with your friends

And you can’t say when you’ll be back – it sort of just depends

So stay there while you’re needed; now there’s one last thing to say

Just remember we all love you and we miss you every day

Specially written by Jeff Cook

in collaboration with

Deb Thompson Defence School Mentor

As a school community, we give special thanks to Steven Avery our Guest Speaker whose presence added significantly to our assembly. Our campus is very fortunate that we are able to have the presence of the Catafalque Party to represent the defence force at our campus each year. This year, the Army’s 9th Combat Service Support Battalion from RAAF Base Edinburgh led by Corporal M Metcalf attended. It was a pleasure to see Blair Boyer MP, Minister for Education, Training & Skills and Rhiannon Pearce MP also attend our service.

I would like to give special thanks to our MC's, Maddi T from GPS and Ella from OLOH. Congratulations to our defence students for being brave and speaking at the service:

Cameron, Mia, Lillie, Eliza, Joslyn, Alexis, Ellie, Savannah and Jasmine.

The enthusiasm they all showed in learning their speeches and the pride they felt representing their parents certainly showed

Thank you so much to students in 404 and 405 from GPS and rooms 17 and 18 from OLOH for singing Last Anzac and Lest We Forget. I would also like to thank Miss Mazzotta & her dancers who gracefully danced to Can You Hear Australian Heroes Marching, to our defence students laying the wreaths, and to all our students and staff for your respectful participation, thank you so much! I am very proud of the role I have in supporting our defence students and appreciate the support I receive from each and every one of you.

Deb Thompson

Defence School Mentor

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