ANZAC Service
A warm welcome back to Term 2 to all of our students and their families. Autumn is such a beautiful time of the year and we have been blessed to have had such lovely weather in Sydney for the Easter break, to allow everyone to feel recuperated and invigorated at the same time.
May is here, and May is the month for us to think about mothers and women, for the substantial role they have in all of our lives. We have some lovely events coming up for all of the Mums in our school community, including:
- The Mothers’ Day Stall on Thursday 9th May… this is really an exciting day for the kids as they enjoy choosing something for their Mum;
- Our Mothers’ Day Breakfast, on Friday 10th May, which is always a highlight in the school calendar, a time for Mums and kids to share some special time together, and to be waited on by the Dads; and
- An Evening For Mums on Friday 31st May. Please make sure you book your place soon for this light-hearted evening where we celebrate Mums (and their friends) with warmth, energy, friendship and mindfulness, led by an exceptional speaker, Chelsea Pottenger (Further details below).
Today was our School’s ANZAC service, which is always such a special occasion, to take time to remember servicemen and women and their families, for all they gave and continue to give to make our country safe and to maintain peace around the world. Our service was led by our four capable school leaders, Harry Awad, Jade Hastings, Jack Tremain and Zoe Costa, our choirs sang ‘Always Remember’ and the New Zealand National Anthem, and they led us in singing the Australian National Anthem.
As we did today during our ANZAC Commemorative Service, I would like to shine a spotlight on four remarkable women on our staff, whose partners are or have been in the armed services. They shared their incredible stories with us today.
Mrs Jill Shoebridge
Mrs Shoebridge’s husband Rob, was in the Army, in the Armoured Corps, or the armoured tanks. In his job as an officer, he was in charge of a squadron of tanks and instructed other teams. He was also an adjutant, which is a military officer who acts as an administrative assistant to a regimental commanding officer.
Rob worked in the Middle East on UN Peacekeeping missions on the Golan Heights (on the border between Syria and Israel) We lived in the Syrian capital city Damascus and on the Israeli border, in a town called Nahariya. He also visited Rwanda (during the war there) to see if Australia should contribute to a UN Peacekeeping effort.
Mrs Shoebridge said there were amazing opportunities to see antiquities in Israel, Biblical sights throughout Israel and Jerusalem, and to travel nearby. Because of their overseas travels they developed many overseas friendships.
They lived in Germany where Rob worked as a squadron leader on exchange with a British Army tank regiment, during the Cold War. Mrs Shoebridge’s favourite posting was Singapore. They also lived in Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia where she spoke Indonesian, but she actually learnt Indonesian before that in school and university. Their travels, she said, opened their eyes to the importance of regional relationships and her passion for our connection to our northern neighbours. Mr & Mrs Shoebridge have three sons who they feel, benefited from living in different countries as this has informed their world view, by giving their whole family opportunities to live in communities around the world.
Mrs Shoebridge said there were some downsides to being married to a serviceman, including the absence from parents and families, moving every 2-3 year which was a challenge, as a partner having to forgo your career even though she was able to work in some countries.
Miss Meg Duff
Miss Duff’s partner Justin is in the Army and has been for the past 12 years. He is in the Aviation Corps, as an Aircrewman on the S-70A-9 Blackhawk, so he spends a lot of time flying. Justin is currently deployed in Afghanistan in Kandahar. He is a part of Operation Highroad which is the Australian commitment to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces. Justin and Miss Duff have a lot of communication with each other, which is different from soldiers and their families in the past.
Justin’s uniform is an AMCU: Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform Flight Suit. He always wears a bulletproof chest and back plate and a helmet, even when he is flying in Australia too. These are very heavy.
There are opportunities because of being in the Army such as travelling to other parts of Australia and other parts of the world. Because of the Army, Justin is very organised and tidy, everything is planned and precise, he has a very disciplined lifestyle. Justin’s whole family have been in the defence force so he is used to the lifestyle.
The challenges are that your partner is away a lot. Miss Duff has two dogs to keep her company.
Mrs Fiona Vula
Mrs Vula’s husband Tevita, has been in the Navy for 13 years. He is currently studying to be a Chaplain in the Navy. Tevita was previously an electronics technician, maintaining the air-search radar (the highest point on the ship), that detects aircraft or missiles. He also maintained all of the weapons on the ship. When he is the Chaplain, he will look after all of the sailors and officers so they can each be the best they can be, by providing counselling, pastoral care and support. Tevita will conduct special ceremonies and commission and decommission ships.
Tevita has travelled with the navy to the Middle East and to Europe but not with his family. His ship was a humanitarian ship involved in helping people who have been in crisis situations, cyclones for example. Mr & Mrs Vula’s two boys are really proud of their Dad and the way he helps people, and when they see their Dad march on ANZAC Day. Tevita, wears a DPNU which is a Disruptive Pattern Navy Uniform, every day. He also has a summer uniform which is white, and a winter uniform which is black. The salute in the Navy is different to the other armed forces. The ship Tevita has been on is the size of two football fields.
There are opportunities to travel when you are in the Navy, to possibly live interstate and/or globally. Families can make new friends when they travel. Mrs Vula’s sons can go and visit Tevita’s ship whenever they want to.
Being away from home can be challenging. Tevita was away for the first 6 months of one of his son’s life, he sometimes misses birthday and family weddings. A partner’s career may suffer because of having to travel.
Mrs Hayley Irwin
Mrs Irwin’s husband James, is in the Navy. He is currently in Sydney, but has been away for almost 12 months on border control looking for asylum seekers and illegal fishermen. He has been based out of Darwin while his wife, Mrs Irwin remained in Sydney and went out to sea for weeks at a time with limited contact. James was based in Canberra for three years, studying Business and Leadership. He is an MWO which stands for a Maritime Warfare Officer. A MWO drives the ship, is in charge of navigation and oversees the administration of a team of sailors. He manages anything that needs fixing, and he is responsible for anyone who comes onto the ship.
James wears DPNU (Disruptive Pattern Naval Uniform) which is shades of grey and navy camouflage while at sea. He also wears whites, which is his summer uniform and he wears a black uniform in winter (which is also called ‘whites’). James wears a peaked cap, an officer’s cap.
There are opportunities to travel in the Navy, and live in lots of different places you might not otherwise choose. James lived in Germany for 4 years when he was younger as his Dad is in the Navy too. Mrs Irwin hopes to travel and to be a part of the community wherever she is. She says being married to a serviceman helps her to be strong and independent, and it always keeps life interesting.
Challenges arise because of time spent apart, and Mrs Irwin thinks everything in her house breaks as soon as James leaves! It can be hard when you have to move as you leave behind the connections that you make.
As I said, four remarkable women, I am sure you agree.
To return to our theme for May (Mothers and Women), a quote from Mark Anthony
“And one day she discovered that she was fierce and strong, and full of fire and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.”
God Bless,
Janelle Ford
Acting Principal
