Our new School Captains We are delighted that Blake Nielsen (Yr11 Fr) and Liv O’Hare (Yr11 Fr) have been chosen to represent our School in the challenging role of School Captains for 2011. As we farewell our 2010 School Captains, Hannah Robertson (Yr12 Cl) and Charlie VickersWillis (Yr12 FB), Light Blue spoke to Blake and Liv about the year ahead. Blake Nielsen How did you feel when you were chosen to represent the School in the challenging role of School Captain? It really did not sink in until the announcement at the all-school assembly, which was held a few days after my appointment – I was completely overwhelmed by the support of the School community for both Liv and me. After regaining control of my emotions and trembling legs, I felt confident about the year ahead – confident that it would be just as positive as this year, if not more so. The way that my year group has bonded has left me in no doubt that I will not be alone in my position of “respecting” and “challenging” this great institution, in the words of last year’s School Prefects. It really has been a thrill so far and I am extremely excited for what is yet to come. You will be spending some time at Timbertop with the other 2011 School Prefects before the end of the year. What is the purpose of this visit? This visit will not only provide us with an opportunity to travel back a few years and relive some of our precious Timbertop memories, but will also allow next year’s Prefects to discuss our ideas and visions for the school. Staying in the Darling Huts, we will have a great opportunity to sit down around a fire and plan how we will aim to use our new positions of influence to have a positive impact on the Geelong Grammar School community. So too, we will be meeting with the Timbertop cohort and hope to make them feel comfortable for their journey down to Corio next year – as part of fostering an inclusive community at Geelong Grammar School, both Liv and I believe that it is very important to establish trust and familiarity with all the year groups. Do you have any goals or a vision for what you hope to achieve in 2011? Hannah and Charlie, along with the School Prefects of last year, worked tirelessly to increase the school spirit at Geelong Grammar School and to develop a more inclusive school network between all of the campuses. Indeed, Liv and I do not see any point in starting a new campaign for the direction of the school – we both feel that it is worthwhile to create a sense of continuity between the years and
develop the connection between the School’s campuses and to encourage every student to partake in as many aspects of the School as possible. The concept of an engaged life is one that runs to the core of the School’s foundations and the newly developed Positive Education programme. A secondary aim of our leadership next year is to increase the students’ connection to Positive Education. We realise that this is a new concept to many people, so we will be aspiring to increase the level of understanding of the benefits of the programme. Have you received any advice from Hannah or Charlie? My tutor, Andy Beauchamp, gave me a great little piece of advice the other morning : “The School body has chosen you to represent them, so do not try to change the way you are for the coming year; be yourself.” Hannah and Charlie, I feel, embodied these words of wisdom. They and the community were one and the same, from the moment they started at Toorak campus to the moment they sat their final exam at Corio. The words that they have given Liv and me were nothing short of heartfelt and genuine. Apart from the intricacies of the job and their normal weekly routine, they outlined that we should do as much as possible as soon as possible and, just as importantly, enjoy the year for what you can offer it and what it will offer you in return. Both Liv and I believe that these are great words and applicable to any person, in any year level at Geelong Grammar School, as well as outside of the community.
Liv O’Hare Some people liken Geelong Grammar School to a journey. What has been your journey at the School? I had the advantage of having had earlier generations of family attend GGS and have heard the stories that formed their journeys at the School. My main goal was to be as heavily involved as possible in as many of the opportunities available to me as I could fit in. I have been lucky to enjoy participating in sporting teams, theatre productions, musical groups, academic teams, charity fundraising committees such as Lorne 160, chapel choir, my wonderful year and unit at Timbertop, Middle School, Fraser house activities, an
exchange trip to Japan, and now as a School community leader and student representative. I feel exhausted just writing it all down, but I am so pleased that I made that decision from the start! Do you have any goals or a vision for what you hope to achieve in 2011? Blake and I hope to achieve a more inclusive spirit for the Geelong Grammar School community next year. We hope to see Middle School and Senior School students acknowledge each other more readily and hopefully develop stronger relationships between year levels. We believe that individuals will be more comfortable in our community if they are able to voice their opinions, participate in a large range of available activities, and maximize their time and input at GGS. We also wish to nurture the good work already begun in the area of Positive Education and hope to foster a stronger sense of school spirit through support for our sporting and academic teams across all disciplines and ages. Have you received any advice from Hannah or Charlie? Hannah and Charlie left incredibly HUGE boots to fill. Their most important advice was to continue to be ourselves, and not allow the role of School Captain to change us too much. They advised us to start the year straight out of the blocks and get into the task of creating initiatives and implementing ideas from day one. They said that effectively we have only six months to make a difference so there is definitely not time to dawdle. We have such a supportive, eager and amazingly diverse prefect body, which will add to our success next year.
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