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To use a metaphor 鈥� in true 榴莲视频IOS style, I鈥檒l compare the journey to Grade Twelve to a road trip.

In grade seven you pack the car, make sure you鈥檝e got absolutely everything you need 鈥� snacks, the perfect playlist, a proper map to guide you. You have a plan, a strategy, and you are determined to not be distracted from your end destination.

But soon enough you realise you have to make pitstops 鈥� it鈥檚 an inevitability really.

 

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The little black and white birds seem to be the messengers

Dhirridhirri is Gamillaraay for Willy wagtail. 

This sculpture, created by Debbie Taylor Worley (a Gamillaraay woman), is dedicated to the memory of Laurie Nilsen, 1953 – 2020. Laurie is a Mandandanji man.

Laurie Nilsen was the inspiration for this sculpture as well as a mentor to Debbie.

The black feather represents the Willy Wagtail, the favourite bird of artist Laurie Nilsen. The concentric circles are a symbol of a campsite, which in Gamillaraay is called Walaay. A tribal group could be divided into smaller walaay, each with their own campfire. In this instance, the 5 walaay represent the 5 Houses of 榴莲视频IOS. Although separated, the students are actually a united, connected whole.

About Laurie Nilsen

Artist, Laurie Nilsen, created powerful images using combinations of bush knowledge with social history; insightful and witty observations of nature, culture and our environment.

He loved telling stories and he loved birds, and they ultimately played a significant role in his life.

Laurie was renowned for his Emu artworks. The emu was, after all, his totem, and he鈥檇 watched many of them die, caught in barbed-wire fences. They became a political environmental statement for him. But the bird that really captured his heart was the Willy wagtail. He saw them as messenger birds, the bringer of news and warnings, of good and bad tidings.

Uncle Laurie shared this story four weeks before he passed away: 

鈥淚 always like talking about my grandfather, cos he had this thing with birds…he talked more to birds than he talked to people. Mum also had this thing with birds and I鈥檝e got it too. You鈥檝e probably seen that little willy wagtail that follows me around at uni. It got close to me. The little black and white birds seem to be the messengers. One let me know that mum was dying. We look at the willy wagtail as the bringer of good news, and letting us know that someone was coming.鈥�

About the artist, Debbie Taylor Worley

Debbie is Gamillaraay woman, originally from north west NSW and now residing on the Tweed Coast. After the birth of her daughters she went on a quest to reconnect to her heritage, resulting in studying, at a mature age, at Griffith University’s College of Art. Debbie graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art. Since then she’s worked as an artist and an educator. She’s been in numerous group shows, has illustrated four children’s books, conducted many workshops and created public and community artwork.

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鈥淢usic is the universal language of mankind.鈥�

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Language is typically viewed as fundamental to human intelligence, and music is often treated as being dependent on, or derived from, language. However, from a developmental perspective, it is now being argued that music comes first and language comes from music. Anthony Brandt, Molly Gebrian and L. Robert Slevc propose that language might be better thought of as a special type of music. The music developed first and provides the foundation – from an evolutionary and a developmental standpoint – for language acquisition.

A young child has no difficulty perceiving the character in music. In fact, the difficulty they seem to have is trying not to turn the music into an immediate physical response. Babies react to music in utero. They begin by hearing language as 鈥渁n intentional and often repetitive vocal performance,鈥� Brandt said. 鈥淭hey listen to it not only for its emotional content but also for its rhythmic and phonemic patterns and consistencies. The meaning of words comes later.鈥�

(More: https:/ /www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ fpsyg.2012.00327/ full)

The abstract nature of music prevents it from being a language in the sense that it may not  communicate a definitive message, however, it clearly does communicate ideas and emotions. Music can reach across cultural and language divides, but it also carries with it cultural and inherent human experiences. Sometimes understanding the syntax is necessary, sometimes it鈥檚 innate. A western ear listening to Chinese classical opera might not have the same experience as their Asian counterpart, but a lullaby sung in any language is likely to resonate with people across cultures and elicit a similar response.

Perhaps Victor Hugo was closer to the mark.

鈥淢usic communicates that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.鈥�
Victor Hugo

Here Hugo recognises the necessity of music to say something that鈥檚 important while acknowledging that what music says is not always easily translatable into words. Music evokes an emotional response from the listener. This emotional understanding of music is part of its power over us.

Comprehending the basic language of music is inherently human, but like any language, there are levels of understanding that are enhanced through knowledge, effort and practice. The great literary writers infer ideas and use subtle nuances to create their work, expressing opinions and commenting on their society. Great composers and musicians do the same. Understanding the language of music enhances the meaning and the experience. If music truly is saying that which can鈥檛 be spoken, don鈥檛 we all deserve the opportunity to hear the full story?

by DAVID JONES
Head of Music

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In Science, we learn about the natural environment which consists of both abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors and how these interact with each other.

In Psychology, the environment a person is exposed to can affect one鈥檚 wellbeing – the interplay between individuals and their social settings, built environments and information environments.

For many people the word environment means nature 鈥� the natural landscape around them. For others it includes the human elements, both agricultural and urban landscapes, and how they interact with each other.

As you can see, the language of 鈥榚nvironment鈥� is broad and powerful and at 榴莲视频IOS we use it in all contexts described above.

The word 鈥榚nvironment鈥� is also the reason our Environmental Club exists and their focus is on leaving the land, of which we are current custodians, better than we found it.

The quote 鈥淏e the change you wish to see in the world鈥� from Mahatma Gandhi is currently being used in many organisations around the world and applied to areas such as acts of kindness, giving back to the world and sustainable development – all which have an impact on our environment.

鈥淏e the change鈥� is what we want to see in all of our environmental definitions at 榴莲视频IOS. This will in turn have a positive impact on the wellbeing and growth of our community, our ability to problem solve, levels of happiness, resilience and our ecological footprint.

At 榴莲视频IOS we believe in walking the talk, and that talk is very much the language of the environment.

by GINNESE JOHNSTON
Year 7 Teacher, Science Teacher and Leader of the Environmental Club

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There has been a carefully considered language at work during every single piece of planning and development: 鈥淒are to Dream鈥�, 鈥淚nformality with Dignity鈥� and 鈥淚n Balance We Grow鈥� underpin this, along with the all encompassing statement “There’s a place for me here”.

Foundation parent Peter Jackson, and member of the first Buildings and Grounds Committee, sums up the early days like this 鈥淭here was a great deal of enthusiasm in those early days and an enormous diversity of skills among the foundation parents. Everyone, parents, teachers and students got involved in cleaning up debris and cobwebs in the old buildings and grounds to prepare everything for the opening鈥�, Peter said.

鈥淭hankfully everyone had the foresight to put the brakes on and make do. The concept of the school had been carefully thought through by the founders, and the parents felt it was important to be just as careful in planning the buildings and the grounds, and to work slowly but surely towards making those plans a reality.鈥�

The years flew by and new buildings sprung from the grounds, including the Administration Block in 1992. In 2003 the Performing Arts Centre was completed. This was a major project with six years of careful consideration being given to ensuring this was an exciting and inspiring learning space as much as a performance facility – a venue used only on special occasions was never going to be an option. 榴莲视频IOS dared to be different.

The next major development project was the Chapel, which at the time was the most challenging built environment brief in the history of 榴莲视频IOS. 鈥淐reate a structure worthy of housing the heart and soul of a unique school community鈥�, they said. With this in mind Brand and Slater Architects (now BSPN) worked with the school and created exactly that. Again, 榴莲视频IOS dared to be different.

New developments continued over the years including B Block, the custom built Home Economics rooms and the redevelopment of the Library.

Fast forward to 2019 and 榴莲视频IOS has undertaken its biggest project yet. The entire front of the school has been redesigned to accommodate a new Administration Building, state of the art Science and English classrooms, break out spaces for students, a commercial kitchen and Cafe, Uniform Shop, underground car parking and major landscaping to soften the front of the school. The forecourt area will be double the previous size providing many more shady, green spaces for students.

Again BSPN have worked with 榴莲视频IOS on this project to ensure this development speaks the same language as the rest of the school. This project is much more visible than any other development undertaken due to its location at the front of the school and this required some very careful considerations.

Some of those considerations were articulated by Board Member, Deborah Enright:

• 榴莲视频IOS needs to look as unique on the outside as it is on the inside; and like every aspect of the school, our design must dare to dream too.
• 榴莲视频IOS should look unlike any other traditional educational institution from the minute you see the school and step inside.
• While the school is growing, we still need to maintain the feeling of balance and the promise that there will always be a place for everyone here. Our buildings and grounds should feel welcoming and warm.
• 榴莲视频IOS has always maintained a strong sense of community, where students learn to respect, consider and work with each other and the people around them. Our new facade needs to champion that sense of community by:
• Considering the streetscape and fitting in with it
• Blending in with our existing buildings
• Looking inviting and welcoming; being a positive addition to the community.

The new Administration building has been operational since October 2019 and the new English, Science, Cafeteria/Uniform Shop and new student outdoor spaces are set to open early in 2020.

Blending the old with the new is always a consideration and we have brought elements of the old Administration Building into the new one with the lead-light windows and silky oak entrance doors calling the new building home now. In addition the rustic timber 榴莲视频IOS Anglican School sign has been lovingly restored by some Year 11 students and is now re-installed at the front of the school.

We believe our new buildings and outdoor spaces, whilst vastly different to where we began in 1987, still speak the same language as they always have. This can be summed up by the words of 榴莲视频IOS鈥檚 co-founder Norm Hunter on a recent tour.

“Rae & I were delighted in early December 2019 to be invited to inspect the major building work that has taken place during year. Our main impression was how effectively the design of the administration building has captured the spirit of architecture that characterised our earlier buildings, especially the concept of 鈥渋nformality with dignity鈥�. The use of natural light throughout is beautiful, & the depth of thought that has gone into student and staff areas is very impressive and I鈥檓 sure they鈥檒l appreciate it. It鈥檚 a place that reaches out in welcome to people, including those coming to it for the first time. It made me proud to have been part of the 榴莲视频IOS story as it continues to evolve.”

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David Morton, 2005 graduating 榴莲视频IOS Student and co-founder of Dead Puppet Society was guest speaker at Celebration Evening. The following is an excerpt from his motivating speech.

What would seventeen year old me have thought if I鈥檇 been told that thirteen years into the future I鈥檇 be introducing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to a life-size Galapagos tortoise that I made of plywood bought from Stafford Bunnings? I鈥檓 sure you can imagine. Not possible. Not in a million years. Also, why on earth did you choose a tortoise? And don鈥檛 they have plywood in London?

Sure, that鈥檚 a high point. And Nick (my husband and business partner) and I shamelessly tell that story. Honestly not from pride or ego, or that our work was somehow deserving of the audience, but because of how gobsmackingly incredulous it is.

The fact that there鈥檚 somehow an ecologically fuelled link between the Royal Family and everyone鈥檚 favourite sausage sizzle joint is only possible in hindsight. I honestly don鈥檛 know if it would be possible to plan for and execute such a stunningly uncanny set of circumstances. What I can draw from the experience is this. It might seem like there鈥檚 a chasm between where you鈥檙e at now, and where you dream to be, your ideal career, lifestyle, personal life. And perhaps the truth is that there is, but it鈥檚 going to be a ripper of an adventure to go on between now and then.

Even that image itself isn鈥檛 an end point, whatever you鈥檙e holding in your minds right now, that dream or goal, it鈥檚 just a way marker; it鈥檚 something to journey towards, but it鈥檚 totally fleeting, and only useful if you remember two things,

1. To make sure you find the time to enjoy every step you take towards your goals, and actively make the choices you need to enjoy them; and
2. Perhaps more importantly, to remain open to them changing. The world changes quickly, in fact I think the only certainty is change, and there are callings and careers hidden in the coming decades that we can鈥檛 even name now, and who knows, perhaps one of you will dedicate a lifetime to it.

The world needs dreamers. It needs citizens who have the bravery to re-imagine their realities, to find new ways of solving age old problems. Sure, this is perhaps most obvious in the arts, but its the case in every industry. The leaders are those with a vision to build new orders, not those willing to live in someone else鈥檚 idea of the world.

I firmly believe that by simply being here tonight you are supremely lucky, because 榴莲视频IOS prepares its graduates to dream better than any other institution I鈥檝e come across or heard of. My takeaway from 榴莲视频IOS, in a sentence, was a foundational belief in the strength of the community and the collective good, where diversity is something to be celebrated, a key to resilience and sustainability, and growth and achievement were spurred on by a constant provocation towards curiosity.

You are never going to forget your time at 榴莲视频IOS. But more than that, you are going to lean hard, perhaps without even knowing it, on the tacit skills you learnt here, the values you built, and on the person you became in this community. If you don鈥檛 believe me, just wait till your next chapter, til you get into uni or the workforce, where you work closely with non-榴莲视频IOSers, then you鈥檒l know how incredible this school is and how lucky you are to have been a part of its story. For those of you about to leave, you鈥檒l always have a little part of 榴莲视频IOS with you, and for those with more years to come in this community, lean in, become a part of it, so that it might become a part of you.

I鈥檇 like to offer some thoughts, some where to from here’s – to be taken or left, as you will:

• Regardless of what you do with your lives, do it with love and do it for a reason.
• Focus on the journey and not the end point – a goal, once reached is simply the start of the next journey, the vantage point from which you spy your next goal.
• Surround yourself with good people.
• Question everything 鈥� we鈥檙e living in an information saturated age, but that doesn鈥檛 necessarily make us better informed. Do your own research, make your own choices, and draw your own connections.
• And lastly, but obviously before all else – just be kind.

by DAVID MORTON
2005 Graduate and Celebration Evening Guest Speaker

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Hey guys, so ahh 鈥y name is Marvin, I鈥檓 3017 years old. You might have seen me around the school, I work days as the sandpit down on the oval. I thought it was important to clarify that we monsters are more than just stereotypes. You might be asking yourself, 鈥淗ey Marvin, if you鈥檙e really from ancient Egypt thousands of years ago, how are you speaking perfect English?鈥�

And I鈥檇 say that I鈥檓 literally a cursed mummy wrapped in toilet paper so you should stop asking questions. But also, “thank you, I learned it on Duolingo”.

So I鈥檓 up here today to talk about something very dear to my heart.

Next week 榴莲视频IOS will be having nine new exchange students. They鈥檙e from Transylvania. I know what you are thinking. “Marvin, you鈥檙e trying to say you don鈥檛 support stereotypes yet you choose Transylvania of all places for a monster exchange?!”

In order to make them feel at home we are challenging everyone to make 榴莲视频IOS as spooky as we can. Cover your classrooms in cobwebs, carve pumpkins into horrifying grins, scare your friends and treat everyone to a good trick. We all need to come together to make a place for these very special ahhh, people! So whether you鈥檙e made of flesh, bone, flesh andbone or the infinitely incomprehensible, unknowable eternal, undead matter of an ancient Eldritch God 鈥� there is a place for you here.

There is a place for you here. How many times do you think you鈥檝e heard that? Twice, three times? For some of the Seniors in the audience that number might be too high to count. But what does it actually mean?

Who is “you”? Is it you, the you hearing this now, the you who is you, or is it perhaps each and every one of “you” who sit by you in this assembly? And, for that matter, where is “here”? Obviously 榴莲视频IOS, but what is 榴莲视频IOS? A series of buildings and construction sites where students come to learn each day? Or is it a place of morals and spirituality which trains us all to be 鈥渁dults鈥�?

Or maybe 榴莲视频IOS is a community, independent of the concrete and soil it stands upon, with walls composed of loving faces and built on a foundation of understanding.

I could continue to ask you about every part of 鈥渢here is a place for you here鈥� and what it means, but even without questions you already know. I don鈥檛 need to stand here to tell you what it means because I鈥檓 sure every one of you understands, and I think that鈥檚 something pretty special.

After all, if you are a mummy who has to wrap yourself, you can know every detail of the bandages you use, but it鈥檚 up to you to put it all together. And each mummy will look a bit different for all of you, unique in every one of your ways. There is a place for you heremeans something to everyone.

Postscript – 1 week later

When I came to you all last week, I asked for your support for some people very special to me and very different to all of you. You came together in true 榴莲视频IOS style in so many ways. From the graveyard, spiders web and classroom nightmares of Year 7 to Mrs Mason鈥檚 haunted house or all the little details on the boards. You all went out of your way to make our Transylvanian’s feel welcomed.

You made a place for them here. I think it says something that on Halloween we can go so far in accepting ghouls and monsters who are so different from us. And if 榴莲视频IOS can make a place for THEM here, we can make a place for ANYONE here.

by RYLAN SANDERS-WALL / “MARVIN”
11 Red & SRC Member

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These words were coined by Sir Ken Robinson who was knighted in 2003 for his enormous inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy.

Unlike traditional subjects, Art is taught inconsistently across all different primary schools; some are taught daily by accredited Art teachers, while other schools offer rudimentary monthly craft activities. This sets up from an early age that Art is an optional endeavour, when in fact the thought processes inherent in Art underscore every other subject studied. Recently, Christine Marm茅 Thompson, Penn State professor of Art Education said, “Seeing Art as expendable indicates a deep misunderstanding of the role it plays at the centre of learning鈥�.

When we get down to it, very few people feel they鈥檙e good at Art. In fact, when asked, most non-artists proudly state that they 鈥渃an鈥檛 even draw a stick figure鈥�.

Image: Laura Peters (11 Red) was part of the Centenarian Portrait Project this year.

There has long been a mindset that 鈥測ou have to be born with artistic talent鈥�. No adult would direct a child away from studying Mathematics because their child hadn鈥檛 instantly comprehended complex trigonometry, yet this is how they approach the study of Art.

We are all artists as toddlers, however we are slowly taught out of our originality by adults who offer praise when a child stops 鈥榮cribbling鈥� and begins drawing symbols that adults easily recognise. Sadly, most adults have already gone through this de-sensitising process and therefore don鈥檛 know how to support their children. They can feel helpless, particularly when their children demonstrate talent.

So how do we support our children? Like developing any skill, acquiring knowledge requires persistence and we need to speak the correct language to develop, not stifle, creativity.

Remind your child that frustration is a great indicator they are learning something new and, if they persevere, they will naturally improve to the next level and the next challenge. Some questions you can ask your children are:

– 鈥淲hy have you used that colour?鈥�

– 鈥淲hat do those lines/shapes mean?鈥�

– 鈥淭ell me about what you鈥檝e created here.鈥�

These questions help avoid the verbal trap of praising visual choices – you are showing them you value what they have drawn from their imagination, rather than a cookie cutter symbol. Listen to their intended message and respond with enthusiasm towards their originality, persistence and creativity. The internet also has amazing free resources that will spark the designer in us all.

Art鈥檚 place in our future cannot be understated. Several popular studies point to the likelihood that 65% of the jobs available by 2030 have yet to be invented. Our children will face the frustrating challenge of preparing for careers that may not even exist yet. In many circles, Art has been tipped as the primary subject needed for many of these future careers.

TED speaker and AI expert, Kai-Fu Lee (formerly of Apple, Microsoft and Google) suggests in a multitude of online talks and reports that in the 15 year horizon, the foremost employable abilities will be creativity and compassion. You can search the internet for his great talks if you want to know More.

Unlike many schools, 榴莲视频IOS has a proud history of supporting The Arts, clearly recognising that the skills of a well balanced lifelong learner require far more than fact recall and following directives. Studying Art isn鈥檛 about having works shown in a gallery, but about applying a flexible mindset to any and all problems.

KATHY OWEN – Visual Arts Coordinator
TAMARA GERLIC- Visual Arts & Home Class Teacher
Image: Portrait by Lily Cooper (9 Red)

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