From the Deputy Head of Primary Meadow Springs – Newsletter 2 2020

A feeling of pride always overcomes staff of a school when they receive compliments about the behaviour and conduct of their students as they are out and about in the community. This occurred on many occasions this week when a group of our Meadow Springs and Halls Head Year 6 students toured Canberra and Sydney. At many of the major sights and venues that we visited the tour guides were constantly commenting on the focus, listening and attention that all our students were showing. This is a compliment to the parents and staff across Frederick Irwin as it means our students are actually ‘living’ the school values, rather than just viewing them on the pencils or in classrooms across the school.

What made this week even better was the fact that the students were part of the ‘machine’ that is Canberra. A Canberra tour involves a lot of energy as students and staff move from venue to venue with not much downtime in between. The students had to show great resilience after flying into Canberra late on Day 1 and needing to visit venues the next morning on limited sleep. As the Year 6 students enjoy a well-deserved rest day at home today they should feel immense pride for the achievement of travelling to the other side of the country away from family. And what a great tour it was!

From Government House to the National Art Gallery to Parliament House and to the Australian War Memorial this tour catered to the interests of all students. One of the highlights of the tour included a talk delivered personally by our local Federal Member for Canning, Mr Andrew Hastie, prior to our tour of Parliament House. The students also got very excited spotting Mr Scott Morrison as he entered the Lower House for Question Time!

A special occasion occurred on our last evening in Canberra when we visited the Australian War Memorial. We were fortunate enough to be a part of the Last Post Ceremony. This occurs every afternoon at the War Memorial, with the service telling the story of an officer who served for Australia, followed by the playing of the Last Post. This provides a moment of reflection for staff and students as to how fortunate we really are. This service involved two Year 6 students laying a wreath on behalf of Frederick Irwin Anglican School. This provided a special moment for James and Mekenzie.

Thank you to all staff and students for the week, and for the great support parents showed in the build-up to the trip. I want to pay particular thanks to Mrs Renee Goard, Camp Coordinator, who spent tireless hours planning for the tour and her hard work resulted in a great experience for the students. It was a wonderful feeling for students to return to the outstretched arms of their parents at Perth Airport on Thursday night and I wish them all a well-deserved rest over the long weekend.

Glyn Teape

Deputy Head of Primary – Meadow Springs