Celebrations and Commemorations of ANZAC Day 2016

JUNIOR SCHOOL CHAPEL FRIDAY 8TH APRIL

Class 5F hosted a special ANZAC Junior School Chapel on the last day of Term 1. Those who have served or are serving our country in the armed forces were honored through music and verse.  The guest speaker, Flight Officer Bryce Woollet, reminded us that we can all serve each other by being brave and facing challenges, while also discussing  the values of integrity, resilience, honour and respect.  Lesa (5F) played the Last Post and the program was concluded with the distribution of commemorative medallions to all students.

SENIOR SCHOOL CHAPEL FRIDAY 22ND APRIL
The first SS Chapel for this term featured a special commemorative service about the ANZAC’s and we were blessed with items and dramas from our student body.

Daniel Reynaud, a professor from Avondale College shared with us the story of the ANZAC Chaplain. Students will be able to learn more about William McKenzie and his experiences as an ANZAC Chaplain, when this publication comes to the Library shortly.  Mrs Jones also organised some ANZAC medallions for each of the students supplied by the RSL and students were able to take them as a momento of the service.  

The ANZAC memorial service was fantastic and as we were reflecting on the past, we were introduced to William McKenzie one of the great ANZAC’s, it was an extrordinary story. – Daika (8Z) 

PRE-SCHOOLERS COMMEMORATING ANZACS AND LEARNING ABOUT ANZAC BISCUITS

On Monday and Friday last week the teachers and Pre-School children made ANZAC biscuits. Making ANZAC biscuits is a great way to start a conversation with Pre-School children about why we commemorate ANZAC Day. 

We also read the story “Anzac Biscuits” by Phil Cummings, which told of a family affected by the war, and how the mother and daughter cooked ANZAC biscuits which were sent to the father fighting a long way away.   Through discussion the children were able to share their knowledge of ANZAC Day. It was great to hear this week, that many of the Pre-School children had attended dawn services with their families, or watched the ANZAC day marches.

WALLSEND RSL MEMORIAL SERVICE
Macquarie College is proud to remember the Australian and New Zealand troops who represented our ancestors on the beaches of Gallipoli and the Western Front.  A number of activities have taken place with Pre-Schoolers, Junior School and Senior School students taking active roles in making special time for reflection and celebration of those who serve.
Thank you to all in our community that attended services in order to commemorate and support current and past members of our armed services.  On the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps troops at Gallipoli, our College captains attended the Anzac Day Dawn Service at Wallsend RSL to remember those who have served our country during conflict and crisis.

College captains Brayden Halliday and Aliyah O’Hern (Junior School) and Jonah Armstrong and Olivia Payne (Senior School) participated by laying flowers on the cenotaph at Wallsend during the commemoration service. They also participated in the march around Wallsend with local community Veterans and their families.

I believe that ANZAC day is a time where people think, reflect, remember and honour soldiers who fought for our freedom. On ANZAC day, we went to the Wallsend RSL dawn service to commemorate those soldiers who have fought and died for our country. It was an honour to be able to pay our respects as leaders of Macquarie College and to show how much we appreciate the sacrifice that those soldiers made. I think it is a really important time, to acknowledge our history and spend time remembering.   On the behalf of Macquarie College, the school captains paid tribute to the ANZACS and remembered them – Olivia Payne 

The Anzac Day dawn service down at Wallsend RSL was a huge success to the community and I felt very privileged to represent Macquarie College by laying the wreath along with Olivia and the junior school captains. The 4am wake up was uncomfortable and challenging, but it was all worth it to commemorate those men who fought for our freedom in unbearable conditions. – Jonah Armstrong

YEAR 10 MEET COMMUNITY VIETNAM VETERANS

On Thursday the 28th of April Year 10 were blessed to have two Vietnam Veterans come speak to them. Phil and Neil, both from our local community of Veterans, used visual material and stories of their own experiences to teach the Year 10 classes about the reality of war, from first-hand experience. Phil spoke about his encounters with the Viet Cong and with various jungle animals while being a forward scout in the Australian Army. Both explained with frank openness about the difficulties of returning home to their “normal lives” after being involved in such a traumatic event in Australia’s history. Macquarie College is incredibly grateful to have such amazing men in our community willing to speak to our students.