Today we paused to remember our ANZAC soldiers who lost their lives courageously fighting for the peace and freedom that we are blessed to have today. Our ANZAC Day ceremony commemorated 25 April 1915, the day when our ANZAC troops landed at Gallipoli in the Dardanelles Strait. The landing marked the ANZAC’s first major action of war, and the start of a campaign that would ultimately prove unsuccessful, leaving more than 8,000 Australians dead.
The ANZAC legend was poignantly put into words by Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia on Anzac Day in 1999.
“Anzac Day is not merely about loss. It is about courage, and endurance, and duty, and love of country, and mateship, and good humour and the survival of a sense of self-worth and decency in the face of dreadful odds.”
At our ceremony, we welcomed back past student Senator Raff Ciccone (Class of 2001). During his time here, Raff was School Vice Captain, School Music Captain and Secretary of the SRC. Raff was appointed as the 100th Federal Senator to represent the State of Victoria in the Australian Parliament on March 6 this year. As a Labor Senator, Raff is passionate about social justice issues including early childhood education, school funding, homelessness and workers’ rights.
As a school community, together we prayed that the spirit of the ANZACs continues to live on in us all today.
