Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, I presented two schools in my electorate with certificates of high commendation in the Anzac Day Schools Awards for 2015. Falls Road Primary School and Midvale Primary School both received these certificates in recognition of the incredible efforts they put into commemorating the Centenary of Anzac. It was a great privilege to be able to visit these schools to present their awards and see the wonderful pieces they had created to remember the Anzacs and their sacrifices. At Midvale Primary School, they created a beautiful mosaic that will be proudly displayed for years to come. The mosaic became the central focus of the schools commemorative program and permanent memorial. Students researched aspects of the Gallipoli campaign and the symbols of commemoration to include in the design. The mosaic includes 100 poppies to symbolise the Anzacs Centenary. Students from year P6 instructed the mosaic. The entry clearly showcased the whole-of-school learning activities around the creation of this wonderful piece of artwork. The obvious joy and pride of students in their work is summed up beautifully by a student's statement: 'I feel proud that everyone got to participate in making the mosaic.'

Falls Road Primary School showcased a wide range of learning activities ranging from propagating rosemary cuttings to the creation of a time line board displaying life in Australia over the last 100 years. Falls Road primary engaged the whole school in a range of activities to learn about the commemorative Anzac Day. Every student in the school made a poppy that was displayed at the Anzac Day service on a '100' frame. Each class made their own wreath and class representatives laid them at the service. Students from years 5 and 6 prepared and presented some well-known music, a PowerPoint presentation and an original writing called 'Letters from home and the front'. The judges commended the whole-of-school effort. The years 5 and 6 letters reflected empathy, perspective and research skills.

It was great to present those awards on behalf of the minister, but what was tremendous was the way in which the school community, the principal and the teachers and students immersed themselves in the history of the Anzac tradition and reflected not only the Anzacs but also all service men and women who have served this country. When they graduate and all leave the school, they will be able to come back and see the work that they have done to commemorate service men and women, who have given them the freedom to live in a country as great as ours. And I certainly want to acknowledge the parents. At both assemblies, there was reward in seeing the strength of the parent community participating in the presentation of those certificates, and it also showed the capacity of the school in bringing together not only its students but its parents and carers as part of the commemoration.