Humans of Carey

Emmanuella Niop

Year 7 student

Like many other students that have started Year 7 this year, I have had lots of fun, met lots of new people and found that although we are all different, we all have heaps in common. When I first started, I found it difficult developing a routine and finding my way to all my classes, especially because this school is humongous! It is a huge difference to my primary school. But with practice and some help from the staff, I eventually found my way around. I love going to Carey and all the amazing facilities we have. I’m extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to come to this school. It is amazing how quickly I’ve made friends, I love all my subjects and the teachers and other staff are very friendly and helpful. I was so nervous about the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 because it’s a new school, new people and an entirely new routine. I’ve had to wake up two hours earlier every morning, take a 40-minute train at 6.50am by myself, then walk an extra kilometre up a steep hill from the station to school and back down again at the end of the day. However, the transition has been much easier than I thought, mostly because Carey provided many resources and support that assisted with it. I am thankful for the support from both of my schools, and I’m proud to have accomplished something I previously predicted was going to be completely terrifying. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very sporty, and – as others tell me – being a sporty person comes with being very competitive! My favourite sports are cheerleading and athletics. I’ve persistently pushed myself in these sports and I now have a massive passion for both of them. Being active and having fun in sport is such a great way to build connections, make sure I’m organised and keep fit. Carey’s sports program has shown me that working together as a team is so important. At Carey I have been able to be involved in diving and athletics, which have both been fantastic. Another awesome activity we did this year was Toonallook. It was such a great camp and I made so many close friends. My favourite bit was our expedition as it

22 | Torch was a time for my group to connect with each other. It was a very cool experience as it was outside my comfort zone, and camping is something I don’t usually do. I’m excited to continue to meet new people during my next few years at Carey. Everyone is so friendly, and I’m a very social person. I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity to meet new people so far! My advice to new students to Carey would be to get involved in as much as you possibly can and take every opportunity. Carey is such a wonderful place, it provides so many activities and resources that support everyone’s passions and ensure you’re enjoying the things you’re doing. And friendships at Carey start so fast! Just make sure you have a smile on your face and you’ll make a huge number of friends. Everyone is extremely approachable and welcoming, and I can guarantee you’ll find a group of people who will encourage you and help you do your best during your time at Carey.

Cathy Scalzo

Mother of Year 5 student Max, Year 7 student Lucy and Year 9 student Jack Humans of Carey

While we were at university, my husband, Dino, and I both separately became friends with some former Carey students. We realised the reason we liked them so much was because we shared so many of Carey’s values, like the importance of social justice and developing the whole person. So, when we started looking into schools for our children, Carey seemed like a good option. The fact that Carey was co-educational also appealed, not least because it offered our children the chance to share their school experience with each another, something we now see playing out regularly around the dinner table. Our children, Max, Lucy and Jack, are now in Years 5, 7 and 9 at Carey. We are grateful that the School has been able to provide an enriching and supportive environment to all three of our children, even though their interests and personalities are quite different. I have been fortunate to have had a wide range of experiences in my professional life, from being a workplace and anti-discrimination lawyer in a large commercial law firm to a diplomat and policy officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For the past 15 years however, I have worked with my brothers and parents managing a diverse group of enterprises in the food, property, investment and philanthropy sectors. Working with family can be challenging but also very rewarding. To ensure it works, we spend lots of fun time together and give each other space by taking responsibility for different aspects of the business. It has always been important to me to have voluntary roles as well, so I am currently on the board or in sub-committees of various social enterprises. One of the enterprises is ygap, which supports local leaders solving local problems in some of the world’s toughest communities. It has also been fantastic to see increasing numbers of Carey parents and their children participate in the hands-on volunteering sessions run by another

social enterprise I am on the board of, Kids in Philanthropy. I am a member of the Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant panel, which makes grants to social purpose ventures looking to secure investment capital. I am a strong believer in the power of business and investment to create positive social and environmental outcomes. I feel positive that the kind of education our children are receiving at Carey ensures they will be at the forefront of business and social innovation, propelled by a strong sense of social justice, as they seek to craft a more inclusive and prosperous world.

Melvin Tan

Year 2 teacher

24 | Torch Last year, I walked away from the final round of my job interview at Carey Junior School Kew with a strong sense of God’s call for me to be part of this school. Coming from Sydney, I had no real context for Carey; I could only rely on my first impressions. What I’ve experienced so far has truly exceeded my expectations. Carey is a beautiful, nurturing and inclusive school environment. I migrated from Singapore to Sydney when I was seven years old. My late father was a medical doctor and my mother was a secondary English and History teacher. My parents valued independent education and enrolled me at The King’s School from Year 4 to 12. After school, much to my mum’s dismay, I had no aspirations for academia. Instead, I wanted to be a Christian music singer/songwriter! Mum managed to convince me to give university a try, so I enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) at the University of Sydney. Because of my wonderful lecturers and tutors, I grew to love teaching. My first job was at All Saints’ College in Bathurst. That year, I also recorded my first CD. My life was basically teaching primary school during the week and singing in churches in Sydney and rural NSW on Sundays. After two years, I returned to Sydney, completed a Master of Education and commenced teaching at Macarthur Anglican School. After three years at Macarthur, I taught at The Scots’ College, in Bellevue Hill. My heart, however, always longed to return to my alma mater. In 2002, I returned to The King’s School, Preparatory School, where I taught for 16 years until my arrival at Carey this year. I had always thought that King’s would be my final ‘resting place’ but as the proverb goes, ‘Man proposes but God disposes’. In 2013, during my tenure at King’s, I graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law. I took a year’s leave and worked as a solicitor. Being admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2013 was a thrill and I think it was really healthy for me to experience working with all the ‘grown ups’ for a change. But after a year, I decided my heart was still in the classroom and resumed my position at King’s. This July marked my 40th year in Australia and my first in Melbourne. I’ve just released my ninth CD, Sail Into Tomorrow; I’m in my fourth year of my PhD candidature at the University of Sydney; and I recently joined the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus as a countertenor. I’m also building a house. It’s a lot of adjustment, challenge, opportunity and fun. I am most grateful to my Junior School colleagues for their support and friendship in this, my significant, milestone year. I couldn’t be happier to be at Carey Baptist Grammar School.

Jo Horsley

Archivist Humans of Carey

I am the eldest of four, two boys and two girls, and we grew up in the Chadstone area. It was probably a pretty typical Catholic upbringing for the 60s and 70s period. The only untypical thing was that for the first part of our childhood, we travelled up and down the east coast of Australia with St Leon’s Circus and Sorlies’ Revue, a travelling tent vaudeville show. I was in the pantomime as a ballerina, and it was just a normal part of life to us. It wasn’t uncommon for people we knew to have horses in their backyards, or even lions or tigers in cages. It was just normal. So when we did settle down, it was a bit of a shock. As kids, we adapted pretty easily, but my parents had a more difficult time. We come from five generations in show business. My mother’s family ran the Wirth’s Circus and my father’s was St Leon’s, but with the advent of television, it was hard to continue. My parents also wanted us to have a normal education, but I think they missed the travelling. Growing up in show business opened my mind from a young age. We were surrounded by people with different backgrounds, ethnicities, and experiences – but we never saw them as different. I was always so curious about people and what I could learn from them, and I always wanted to learn more about the world and where the people I met had come from. It stirred in me a lifelong passion for travelling. My first trip was in 1979. I went by myself and did a big loop around Europe. I proved to myself that I could be independent, and it was an opportunity to experience new things and learn about the world. I fell in love with Italy – what’s not to love – and since then I have travelled as much as I can. I came into archiving after I finished a Bachelor of Arts and wanted to find something that combined creativity with my love of history. I started a Master’s degree in museum studies, but there wasn’t a lot of work so I completed a post-grad qualification in Archives and Records Management. I loved working with historical records, and in 1998 I heard about the upcoming 75th anniversary of Carey. They had two archivists working on it: Anne and Alfred Mellor. By that time both of my sons were at Carey, so I called to see if I could help, and they were happy to take me on board. We became great friends and I loved working with them. Anne retired about 18 months later, so on Alfred’s recommendation, Carey hired me as the new archivist. I worked with Alfred for nearly 10 years. He was so dedicated to the School, he was an impressive person, and I miss him a lot. At the time, other than a small display cabinet, we didn’t have much of a chance to exhibit the archives. But a few months after I started, we secured a space for a museum just off the Quad. We were so excited, and I was looking forward to using what I’d learnt from my museum studies. We had a lot of fun setting it up. I’ve always loved both the autonomy I have been given as archivist, and the support the archives has at Carey. Included in the design of the Centre for Learning and Innovation was a purposebuilt archival storage room, and we have now set up the Mellor Museum in Urangeline. Both of these spaces are open to the Carey community for research or viewing. We are currently working towards documenting Carey’s history for our centenary in 2023. This year, I have loved working on the project with Helen Penrose, our historian, and I’m excited to see it all come to fruition.