St Mark’s Anglican Community School

ST MARK’S ANGLICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL

GIVING BACK

For students graduating from St Mark’s Anglican Community School, their relationship with the School does not end on the day they cross the stage at Valedictory. As members of the St Mark’s Old Scholars’ Association, they remain an important part of our School community.

Past students are considered a rich resource, and are encouraged to share their skills, wisdom, time and ideas, ensuring everyone benefits from opportunities to connect with one another.

This ethos means the School has welcomed back a number of alumni as guest speakers and mentors over the years, and 2021 was no exception.

This year the School welcomed back Natalie Alexander from the Class of 2008, and Felicity (Flick) Palmateer from the Class of 2009.

Natalie made her Olympic debut representing Australia in the Tokyo Paralympics this year, in the sport of Wheelchair Basketball. She returned to St Mark’s for the Year 9 Thinking Differently Day, which focused on the topic of inclusion.

Natalie is the Programs Officer for Rebound WA, which works to advocate for inclusion and accessibility. Natalie’s personal experiences and her connection to St Mark’s made her the ideal guest speaker for this event, and the students came away a new understanding of what it is like to live with a physical disability.

Flick Palmateer a talented artist and professional surfer, was making waves of a different sort this year, reaching the final three in the latest series of Survivor Australia. Her positive attitude and resilience in facing the challenges of both the competition and the loss of her mum to dementia are much to be admired.

It was in her role as dementia ambassador that Flick returned to St Mark’s, in support a student fundraiser for Dementia Australia. Flick was able to share inspiring stories with students of her life as a surfer, artist and Survivor contestant, and praised their efforts in raising funds for a cause that is so close to her heart.