My 13-year old daughter was about to embark on writing an essay showing empathy and giving a voice to an untold story. We sat together, brainstormed and contemplated where she would begin and whose story she would share. In the end she wanted to learn more about her great grandfather, his story and the impact that his life has had on our family.
While learning about his childhood and his life at school, it brought about an appreciation for her own life and the opportunities that we all have today. He didn’t have a pair of shoes until he was in his mid teens and had to walk to school barefoot in the freezing cold, and then received the cane for being late to school. She discovered that he saved his brother from drowning in a river as a child. He lived in a tin-roofed home with a dirt floor that was freezing cold in winter and boiling hot in summer. As a very young man he signed up to fight for our country, was sent off to Egypt as a motorcycle dispatch rider, making his way to the front lines and back.
His life story continued in such a different way to the opportunities and lifestyle we have today. She decided to depict his story through art, which sits proudly in my office today. It was an opportunity for her to explore the life of her great grandfather and to empathise with him, while also appreciating the life that she has today. Our history and families impact who we are and what we do today. We all have a different family story, different heritage, different backgrounds and that diversity is so beautiful and important as we come together as a school family.
There is strength in our diversity; it is what makes Avondale School such an amazing place to learn, grow and develop character.
Mr Nathan Hill
Head of Primary
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