Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to recognise some special students at a special school, the Fountain Gate Secondary College. On Tuesday, 28 August 2012 I was proud to present Principal Vicki Walters from Fountain Gate Secondary College with a 2012 Anzac Day Schools' Award when I attended their year 7 and year 8 school assembly.

Fountain Gate Secondary College is this year's Victorian state runner-up in the secondary school category and, as a result, the school received a winning plaque, a certificate and a cheque for $500 from the Australian government. The 2012 Anzac Day Schools' Awards is an exciting competition, run by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, that encourages students to learn about Anzac Day. By researching Australia's wartime history and peacekeeping operations students learn why veterans are commemorated on this very special day.

I understand that Fountain Gate Secondary College's entry comprised a beautifully presented folder of photographs documenting the school's Anzac Day ceremony and works from the students that were both spoken and musical. These were based on different themes relating to Anzac Day as well as the school's involvement with the Korean Veterans' Association. This entry demonstrated a strong understanding of the Anzac spirit and it is great to see students involving the veterans community to commemorate Anzac Day.

Like many schools across Australia and in my electorate of Holt, Fountain Gate Secondary College commemorates Anzac Day, in an event that I can proudly say I have attended for at least 10 or 11 years. The Anzac Day ceremony held at Fountain Gate Secondary College is an event which really stands out in my mind for a variety of reasons and is an event which makes this school truly unique. Each year the students come together in the school's gymnasium to observe and participate in the ceremony and, obviously, for a minute's silence. They tell stories of things like the Lone Pine and give gifts to visiting dignitaries.

What makes this school and this service so unique is their very deep bond with the Korean Veterans Association and their innate understanding of the sacrifices made by our service men and women. The Anzac Day service goes for well over an hour and, when you see a group of young students who can sit attentively for that period of time, it says a lot about the students. They are imbibing the history of Anzac Day and they are imbibing the sacrifices made by our service men and women. They are also representing it in very emotional ways, which means that they get the connection and the significance of the day itself.

It is significant in the school that they have a memorial for the Korean War veterans on the school grounds. They were presented with a Lone Pine by me in a specific ceremony a number of years ago, which commemorated the Battle of Lone Pine. I checked recently and the plant is thriving, which is a testament to the school.

The work of Principal Vicki Walters, teacher Belinda Irving and the students who were involved in this year's Anzac Day was outstanding. I congratulate the school in fostering a relationship with the Korean War veterans, particularly Mr Vic Dey, the National President of the Korean Veterans Association of Australia. I know that Vic feels very passionate about the connection with the school. He feels very passionate about the fact that he is able to participate in this service and tell the stories, as I said at the start of this speech, to a very attentive group of over 1,000 students.

The school has also been performing extraordinarily well in other areas. For example, this year it had two aerobics teams that participated on Saturday, 18 August, in Sydney. One of the aerobics teams won the national school championships. The secondary team, which is the XLR8 team, was presented with the silver medal. It was an amazing weekend of activities and the students did incredibly well.

They are a school who are very passionate about what they do. The motto of the school is 'Respect, honesty and responsibility'. In reflecting what the previous speaker said, this school is a very multicultural school with a lot of people coming from all different parts of the world to make this country their home. They do it very proudly. The Anzac Day ceremony is one of the best ceremonies that I attend year after year, and I commend the school's principal.