NGSC Students Take Part in the Herne Hill Primary School ANZAC Day Service

On Friday 24^th April, North Geelong Secondary College participated in Herne Hill Primary School’s ANZAC Day service, joining the school community in commemoration.

Three NGSC students—Shesh Rajasingham (Year 12), Gabriel Brown (Year 10), and Flynn Bird (Year 7)—represented the college. Shesh performed on the bagpipes, and Shesh and Gabriel spoke to the students about their roles as Army and Air Force cadets, offering valuable insight into their service and commitment.

Herne Hill parent Anthony Bulger also shared his experiences in the Australian Defence Forces. His reflections provided students with a deeper understanding of the significance of ANZAC Day.

The Herne Hill Primary School captains and student leaders did so well in their delivery of the service. Thank you to Herne Hill Primary School for the opportunity to be part of this ANZAC Day commemoration.

Multicultural Committee News

A warm welcome back to you all. I trust you had a relaxing Easter break and are feeling rejuvenated and ready for the second school term.

Our third Multicultural Committee (MC) meeting will take place on Monday 4th May, from 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm in the Conference Room at NGSC.

We are pleased to welcome our guest speaker, Mr Webster Chimanga, a lawyer from Barwon Community Legal Service. His work focuses on supporting young people with legal matters, and NGSC students can access his services free of charge when needed. This promises to be an informative session, and we welcome you to attend.

The meeting will also include updates on recent events such as Harmony Day, the NGSC 60th Anniversary, and Athletics Day. In addition, we will continue discussions and planning for this year’s Multicultural Festival, which will be held on Friday 23rd October. The festival theme will include: 60 Years of “Many Cultures, One Community” to reflect this important milestone of NGSC and will guide our planning of activities for the event. We invite you to join our committee to stay informed and be part of this exciting planning process. For more information or updates, please contact Vera Dudas via the school’s administration office.

We look forward to your presence at the upcoming meeting.

Cambodia Reflections  

Cambodia Reflection - Araadhana Amudhabalan

In Cambodia, we completed two main projects in order to help the communities surrounding Camps Beng Pae and Beng Mea Lea.

The first project was at Camp Beng Pae, and involved building a toilet for a family. During this project, our tribe got our first taste of hard labour in the sweltering heat, with making cement on the first day under the sun a difficult job. However, towards the end of the 5 days spent in Beng Pae, and the end of our first project, our tribe became tighter knit, and more comfortable with each other.

We also learnt some life lessons during our nightly journaling session, and we talked about everything we’d seen so far in the rural community in Cambodia, compared to everything else we’d seen in our lives. This nightly reflection really seemed to open the tribe’s eyes towards how different life is for everyone, and how a few days of hard labour for our group could monumentally change another person’s life for the better.

We also spent time teaching children between both camps, where we learnt that school is optional for children in Beng Mea Lea, and still many students showed up for their English lesson directed by us, demonstrating their desire to learn English in hope for a better future. The children were eager and ready to learn, which forced me to remember that education is a privilege, and should not be taken for granted when there are others who would fight for the chance to gain knowledge in our places.

During our second Camp, Beng Mea Lea, the project was building cement water pots for the local families so that they would have water throughout the week, allowing their children to go to school and the families to work without worry of collecting water. This project was especially fun because it involved clay to make the shape of the pot, and everyone got involved in stomping around in the clay to mix it together, however the clean-up in the aftermath was not as fun. This project only took two days, and we got to meet the people who came to pick up two of the pots for a family. We could really see how grateful they were to us, and it opened my eyes to see how life changing a few days of our hard work can become for the local community.

During our stays in camps, the bond between the group became stronger, and we all became more comfortable with each other. Becoming friends with the girls was a lot easier as we shared a long house and got to know each other better during the time after dinners and before we went to sleep. I warmed up more to the younger boys in the second week, where we conversed more and I got to know more about some of their interests and their personalities.

We also grew a bond with Nick, the expedition leader from Camps International from England. At first, Nick seemed very different from us, and it was hard to take him seriously with all of his cringy jokes. However, from the start I could see that Nick was trying really hard to make a relationship with all of us and help make our tribe more connected. It was easy to see that he truly cared about all of us and our health, especially when I got sick and was unable to do project work for two days. It is really sad to me that we would never go on an expedition with Nick as our leader again, and his teachings about everything will always stay with me.

On the other hand, we also did hit some tourist attractions in between camps. During our stay in Phnom Penh, we visited the S21 prison, where we learnt about the dark history of Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge and the horrifying experiences in the prison.

We also visited the Killing Fields, where we could see the places where so many died during the Rouge, and saw the preserved remains of those who were killed.

These places really helped us understand the history of Cambodia, considering the Khmer Rouge happened less than 50 years ago. It also helped us grasp an understanding of the lives of people in Cambodia and was inspiring to see their perseverance in the face of a dark mark in their history. Many Cambodian people would have been children during the Rouge, and it was amazing to see how far the people have worked to overcome the pain and suffering of that dark time.

In Siem Riep, we visited more tourist crowded places, such as Angkor Wat, where we watched the sunrise and learnt more about the history of the temple, including the cultures it was influenced by, such as Hinduism.

We also got to visit the Cambodian Circus, Phare, and watching their show was breathtaking. It was further amazing when we learnt about the history of the circus, and how there is a school near Siem Riep that takes in underprivileged kids and trains them in the art of circus so that they may earn money to help their families. It was so special to see how the performers showcased their abilities, and even better to know that they had the ability to support their families through this circus opportunity.

Overall, this Cambodia trip taught me many lessons, with the people we met along the way, and the bonds between our tribe, and the local communities we got to live in, this trip will forever stay with me. I will never forget the memories I made in Cambodia, and I hope to continue travelling ethically in the future.

Cambodia Reflection - Hamish Dodemaide

Throughout the 2 weeks we spent in Cambodia we stayed in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Camp Beng Pae, a hotel in Siem Reap and Camp Beng Mealea. The first project we worked on was building a toilet. We made concrete rings, dug holes, then installed the rings. It's pretty crazy to me to think that before we came, this family didn't have a toilet, something so basic back at home. I enjoyed watching the family watch suspiciously of us on the first couple days, then grow comfortable with us over time. The second project was making water pots. We made clay moulds and then put concrete around it to form the shape. The significance of these pots is because either a child or a parent every day would have to collect water but only enough for the day, this means that either a parent or kid misses work or school. But with the water pots on Sunday when they don't have work or school they can fill it up for the whole week. My favourite part of this project was that I got to watch a family picking up the pots and they couldn't stop smiling. When we went to the killing fields, I remember walking in and thinking that this building was like any other, but then we walked to the side, and we could see that it was full of skulls. My favourite part of the whole thing was when we were at Beng Pae and all of us were sitting in the hammocks. I'm sure to the teachers and other people it looked like we were just talking, but it was those times that we all really got connected. Most of us only knew a few of each other, but when we sat in the hammocks we just spoke for ages and shared stuff about our lives, which really helped us be more comfortable with each other. Something I've been thinking about is how the staff, families and even random local people were all there before I came and they are still there even though I left, all the people who are in a rough spot are still. I just find that interesting, because before this trip I knew that there were people there, but now I've seen them personally.

Cambodia Reflection - Kira Tegalado

My time in Cambodia is something I'll hold very close to my heart; the experience was unlike anything I've ever experienced in the best way possible. Throughout the trip I learned new skills and exposed myself to their wonderful culture and lifestyle. The first week of the trip, we spent our days in Camp Beng Pae, where we built a squat toilet for a family that didn’t have one. The process took about four days of hard work and constant water breaks, but it was so incredibly rewarding to accomplish something like that.

The highlights of my trip were definitely connecting with the local community whether that’s at the English schools or playing games with the kids. Their enthusiasm and love for learning is what makes teaching the classes so special. The lowlights of the trip were the bugs; I got bitten everyday! Not very fun but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the trip. Now that I’m back at school and my everyday life, I miss Cambodia more and more. Safe to say that as someone who has never travelled outside of Australia, this was one for the books. I highly recommend taking this opportunity to see that beautiful country and experiences you will never forget.