ANZAC CEREMONY
John Forrest Secondary College held it's annual ANZAC Day commemorative service on Thursday 12 April 2018. The entire College community assembled in the outdoor setting of the Kelso quadrangle. Rain threatened, but luckily it held off until the conclusion of the service.
We were joined by a number of dignitaries. This included Mr Tim Hammond MP (Federal Member for Perth), Mr Dan Bull (Mayor, City of Bayswater), Dr Megan Lloyd (Chair, College Board), Ms Helen Bolin (President, College P&C) and Doug Fettes (Veteran, Vietnam War and Ms Rowe's "pop").
Sadly, a stalwart of our commemoration services since 2001, Mr Ted Dubberlin was not able to join us. Ted is 92 years of age this year and was a member of Z-Force from World War II. Ted's poor health saw him hospitalised. We wish him the very best for a speedy recovery.
On a pleasant note it was lovely to see Andrew Philp return to our College. Andrew was a former student and is currently a lieutenant in the Army Reserve, attached to the West Australian 10th Light Horse Regiment.
Our key note speaker this year was Jenny Rossi, our College nurse. She spoke on the theme "what ANZAC Day means to me".
Jenny was formerly a member of the Army Medical Corps. She briefly outlined how ANZAC Day "played out" for her when she was a full time member of the Australian Army. She also reminded everyone assembled that as a former member of the Army Medical Corps she had a particular affinity to the story of John Kirkpatrick Simpson (of Simpson and his donkey fame).
The College band combined with the College choir and shared some haunting yet uplifting musical items. The Last Post was expertly played by Jarad Penfold. His contribution was particularly noteworthy when you consider that he is only in Year 7. It looks like we've got the Last Post "covered" for the foreseeable future.
The student body is to be commended for the respectful manner in which they participated in an important occasion on the College calendar.
The College would like to thank our guests of honour for their attendance
Mr Tim Hammond MP, Federal Member for Perth
Mr Dan Bull, Mayor, City of Bayswater
Dr Megan Lloyd, Chair, College Board
Ms Helen Bolin, President, P&C Committee
Mr Doug Fettes, Veteran of the Vietnam War
