RPS Society Feature Supplement 

REMEMBRANCE DAY ASSEMBLY OVERVIEW 

"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."

On Monday the 11th of November (Remembrance Day) the Year Fives conducted a special assembly to honour the soldiers fallen in past conflicts and still fighting in current ones.

This year was the 100th anniversary of the first ever Remembrance Day. WWI ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. The first ever Remembrance Day was held exactly one year later.

The Year Fives talked about how WWI started, conditions in the war, stories about the war, poems about remembrance, poppies, animals in war and of course ‘The Ode’, the minute of silence and ‘The Last Post’.

Overall the Year Fives did a great job honoring people and animals who fought for us in both wars.

We thank Mr. Leech who helped the Year Fives leading up to the assembly and Ms. Brooks who helped on the day.

Written by:

Izzy, Phoebe, Jemma, Natan, Tav, Hugo and William

MR. G IN JAPAN 

Many parents and students at our school may be aware that apart from teaching I also have an interest in music and play in a band called ‘Little Murders’. Since our inception in 1979 we have released many albums and singles and celebrated 40 years together with a new album called 'Dromana-Rama' just last month.

However, before ‘Little Murders’, I was in a band called the ‘The Fiction’ who in 1978 were one of the first punk, new wave bands in Australia. (We played many gigs with the lot more famous Nick Cave and his band ‘The Boys Next Door’.)

Last year we started playing shows again and released a new album after 41 years apart. This piqued interest in us; how a group of over sixty year olds can return to the stage after such a long time?

We ended up being on radio and even written about in The Age newspaper – page three with a large colour photo!

We were also invited to play at the Halloween Ball in Shinjuku, Tokyo in Japan. Halloween is really popular in Japan and many people dressed up for the occasion in all sorts of outlandish gear. ‘The Addams Family’ was a popular choice this year. The room was full of Wednesdays!  52 bands played 20 minutes each on two stages. It was so much fun. The Japanese people display so much enthusiasm and respect for musicians, it creates a joyous atmosphere.

After that, we played shows in Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka and then back in Tokyo. 5 shows, 5 cities and lots of fast trains (Shinkansen). Tiring, but a wonderful experience.

We met so many lovely people who had so much knowledge about Australian music and wanted to ask questions. When we got lost in some of the biggest railway stations in the world (to compare, Shinjuku has an average of 3.5 million users a day, Melbourne has a population of 4.8 million) there was always someone there to help.

This was my second musical tour of Japan (last year I went with ‘Little Murders’). It is a beautiful country where everything runs on time. It is only 9 hours away which makes it easy to get to. I love playing music and the engagement with Japanese audiences lifted our spirits immeasurably. We may have played in some places which might have fitted into a classroom at school but it felt like so much more.