ELISABETH MURDOCH HOUSE NEWSLETTER 2020 EDITION 3 MAY 20
The
DOCH
National Sorry Day 26th May
On May 20th EM was blessed to be able to host Murrundindi Murrundindi head elder (Ngurungaeta) of the Wurundjeri people, in our weekly House meeting. His thoughts and stories around Sorry Day were moving and inspiring.
The recognition of past wrongs in Australia has been described as ‘the test we’ve always failed’. National Sorry Day recognises the negative impact of Australian policies, practices and attitudes on Indigenous people. This edition of ‘The Doch’ celebrates Sorry Day with the hope that progress towards reconciliation continues to heal some of the transgressions of the past.
Our front cover featuresa portrait of Joedene Garstone, a Jaru/Bardi woman and prefect of EM who graduated in 2016 and went on to ANU. Taken by Artist in residence at the time, Jacqui Stockdale, the portrait captures Joedene wearing the GGS possum skin cloak.
Prior to the exeat weekend many of you were zoomed out; in need of a break and time away from the computer and therefore I find this quote by Anne Lamott very pertinent, “almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” This is exactly what I did! I unplugged, no Zoom, no computer, no phone. Instead, I rode the bike with Arthur, pulled Edith down from any object she could find to climb and decided to begin a new DIY house project – restoring an old second-hand table. I am someone who loves a project, which requires using my creativity (yes one of my signature strengths) and a bit of physical labour. Restoring the table was not going to be easy. Like most things, preparation is key, and I am always reminded of this quote by Benjamin Franklin “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. If I wanted the table restored to its former glory, then I needed to commit to 2 days of sanding. I needed to persevere when the back started to ache, and it felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I must admit, I did have to remind myself on numerous occasions of why I started this project. Lastly, it required patience, especially when I had two little people who wanted to “help” me. By the end of Monday evening, I was done, and I was pretty proud of my efforts. The dining table came up a treat if I don’t say so myself. Whilst this metaphor is fairly loose, what I am trying to highlight is that being patient, persevering and being prepared will be important when you return to campus. Remember that you are not returning post COVID-19, you are returning to resume your education during a pandemic. You will need to be patient as we isolate in EM together for 2 weeks. You will need to persevere when days get tough, but reach out, as you will not be alone. You will need to be prepared for whatever the journey through COVID-19 may bring us. Trust that we will get through this together and that we can still embrace all the things that are great about GGS even with current restrictions. Know that there are many people (staff, kids, even dogs) who are looking forward to welcoming you back on Sunday and we can’t wait to see you back in the place you call your ‘home away from home’. Ms Bower Head of Elisabeth Murdoch House
How’s your knowledge of Royalty? From the Geelong Grammar Archives, this photo (by Fred Kruger) 1870, captures Willem Baa Nip ‘King Billy’ and his wife ‘Queen Mary’ who were the last clan leaders of the group (Wathaurong) that inhabited the area where the School now is. Like most of there tribe, european disease took their lives after their land was taken from them by early white settlers.
In this month, in 1967 (not so long ago) Indigenous people were finally granted citizenship in Australia. Prior to this, Indigenous folk had no rights and were treated poorly by government and society in general. Children were removed from parents, no ind.igenous person had the right to vote.
It’s not all History
What to make? Jaz has been knitting, Tilly In 2020 100% of children in detention in the Northern Terrihas handbuilt a guitar.Here’s tory are indigenous. Solitary confinement and physical abuse are not unusual. Life expectancy amongst indigenous Austraa pattern for crocheting your lians is 10 years lower than non-indigenous. own little virus. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/ library/corona-virus
So... What can I do?
- Go to and support Indigenous-led rallies and marches - Support Indigenous Art, Culture and Business - Educate yourself on Indigenous history, culture and activism - Be supportive (not patronising) of the indigenous people you know - Speak up, when people are spouting rascist nonsense - Find out what your parliamentary representatives are doing to support Indigenous people
HIDE UNDER WATER OR AN YOU FEEL THE JERK OF PLEA - Jenny Holzer 1983
NYWHERE SO UNDISTURBED ASURE WHEN AN IDEA COMES
PEOPLE PROFILES
NAME: Tara Quach YEARS AT GGS: 3 Involvements at GGS: Musicals, Dance, Music Bands Away from GGS, Best thing about being a boarder in EM: Being with friends and having fun with the whole house Future Ambitions: Be a musician and maybe study dermatology Favourite moment this year in EM: House swimming and music Someone who you would want to live with and why? This can be ANYONE in the world : I would probably live with JLo because she’s an awesome musician and dancer and I could probably learn lots from her.
NAME: Issy Perrignon YEARS AT GGS: 3 Involvements at GGS: Netball, Rowing, Water polo, Environmental Committee Best thing about being a boarder in EM: Pammy’s cooking! But also I love the community in EM and being able to have a home away from home Future Ambitions: Very undecided, but hopefully not working at a desk! Favourite moment this year in EM: Winning Both the house swimming and house music, especially hearing EM being announced as winners and being able to celebrate with everyone. Someone who you would want to live with and why? Recently I’ve really come to appreciate living with my mum because she’s really good at cooking and washes my clothes for me!
NAME: Deedee White YEARS AT GGS: Since Timbertop Involvements at GGS: Diving, Tennis, Soccer, Swimming, Piano, Environmental Committee, IB Away from GGS: I have 4 of the cutest puppies ever, Netflix and yummyyy food, and also hanging out with my cousins/friends/ parents. Best thing about being a boarder in EM: Being part of an amazing culture, Pam’s and Beavus’s dogs. I also love waking up to the awesome tunes of Beav Future Ambitions: No clue as to what I want to do in terms of a job or uni course, but I do want to go to uni/college overseas for a couple of years. Favourite moment this year in EM: My favourite moment this year in EM was definitely --when we won the swimming carnival OR when we won the music festival/watching the small group and Jemima and Lola’s solo.
Andy Beauchamp
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Skiing with family and friends somewhere Someone who you would want to live with in the word, but by far my favourite is the and why? This is a hard question but I would Dolomites in Italy want to live with Tyler the Creator because What is the quality you most like in other his music dope, he has really cool cars and people? he seem really funny OR Billie Eilish only beKindness FULL STOP cause she could sing me asleep every night. Where in the world are you happiest? With family/friends in the mountains/onthe beach/trekking, just doing things that require exercise Which talent would you most like to have? I wished I had learned to play the guitar and then played in a rock band. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, who/what would it be? My Labrador, Garwood What is your most treasured possession? My health….and good looks
Like many EM students, Emily Widjaja undertook the Wednesday Take Break Are all of those work requirements getting on top Challengea last week. The results (pictured here) were spectacular of you? Do you have ‘screen drain’? Take a Break. Take some Time. Make some and delicious. Tea. The baking craze during lockdown has meant shortages of flour in some supermarkets. Production in some Australian flour mills has increased by 300%.
https://www.recipetineats.com/
What about my ATAR? The Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has assured Year 12 students across Australia, “ “All Year 12s and all their parents should know this: you will get an ATAR for 2020, and you will be able to go and live your dreams, whether it’s in university, vocational education or the workforce next year.” What does that mean to those who are in the throes of study, either IB or VCE? The good news is that adversity and time away from School, may not be all that bad, in terms of final results. John Hattie, a leading educator and Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) chairman, has good news for students and parents. Professor Hattie says students will recover quickly from the COVID-19 crisis. Professor Hattie was the adviser for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority that oversaw school examinations after the devastating Christchurch earthquakes of 2011. Schools were closed for weeks, without warning and most students did not have the opportunity for online learning or discussion with teachers. But results did not suffer and high school students did not drop out. “The students’ performance actually went up in the final exams,” Professor Hattie said. Whether it was a shift in focus to what was absolutely essential or the break from the pressure of School or, perhaps rest and the opportunity to recreate and exercise in one’s own spce and time. It seems that there may actually be some silver linings in our enforced isolation.
https://www.ggscareers.com/