CELEBRATING Innovation CLASS OF 2005 – 10 YEAR REUNION The afternoon started with nervous steps onto the now unfamiliar grounds of CGGS and ended with interlinked arms on the dance floor and nostalgia free-pouring. On 7 November 2015, with plenty of mixed emotions, the class of 2005 landed on the
lawns of a school that has seen an incredible transformation in the past decade. But as they say, the more things change the more they stay the same, and after a glass of bubbles to get the conversation flowing, it wasn’t long before the alumni
were huddled in the new science building attempting to recall the words to the beloved hymn Jerusalem. The group welcomed with joy teachers past and present – Mr Kent, Mr Weigall, Mr Blue, Mr Cooney, Mrs Macdonald and Mrs Tatchell joined in on the tour and indulged the group with behind-the-scenes stories and memories from their time teaching the class of 2005. Special thanks also to Ms Coutts who took the time to welcome us to the school. Not surprisingly, this group of women have made their own mark on the world. From international lawyers and curators of customer experience, to mothers of one and two and budding entrepreneurs, the life directions were varied but the sentiment was the same – Grammarians can and do, do anything. That night, at the nearby Ottoman restaurant, alumni jumped from seat to seat, catching up with familiar faces. The night peaked with CGGS-themed rounds of trivia and a review of the ‘most likely to’ – some of which were frighteningly accurate. Shared experience is certainly the strongest of glues – the turn out to this event evidenced the significance of the growth undertaken during the cohort’s formative teen years. While school reunions can elicit a sense of panic and self-consciousness, the gathering ended with talks of planning the 20 year reunion (and maybe even a 15th!), a sign of the value the girls found in reuniting. The reunion was a wonderful opportunity to rekindle the sense of support we felt in our school years and to celebrate the diversity and success of our class mates. Hannah Purdy (2005)
Top: Class of 2005 – 10 year reunion. Left: Hannah Purdy, Shiara Samarasinghe, Ella Ward, Natalia Thomas and Christina Waldron
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