Back to school to celebrate success stories

Wayne Gardner says try your best.

by Maurie Mulheron

Three famous former students went back to Keira High School as part of Back-to-School Day on May 17.

The intention of Back-to-School Day is to connect prominent and successful ex-public school students with their former school. This year, Keira High School invited author Frank Moorhouse, motorcycling racing champion Wayne Gardner and international diplomat and adviser to prime ministers Hugh Craft.

Frank Moorhouse started his career as a writer as a cadet journalist on the Sydney Daily Telegraph in 1956. He is now an internationally renowned novelist and essayist whose most recent novel, Dark Palace, won the Miles Franklin Prize for Australian Literature (2001). He has been writer-in-residence at a number of universities and in 1985 was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to literature. His literary prizes include the Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal. Frank has also written some powerful opinion pieces in support of public education for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and more recently in the Griffith Review.

Hugh Craft has a distinguished career as an international civil servant and diplomat dating back over 30 years including heading the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, organising the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), being a delegate to the United Nations and coordinating the Eminent Persons Group that helped in the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.

Both Frank and Hugh were joined by Frank's older brother, Arthur Moorhouse, school captain in 1949, for a seminar in the school library attended by students from years 11 and 12. These three older men engaged the young students for 90 minutes with anecdotes of their school days, their careers and the state of the world. Students were then given an opportunity to ask questions. Some Extension English students were keen to pick up writing tips from Frank Moorhouse. Other students were interested in Hugh Craft's opinion on the state of world affairs.

Wayne Gardner's successes include the ITV World of Sport Champion (Britain) 1983 and 1985, ABC Sportsman of the Year (Australia) 1987, Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) and Sport Australia's Sportsman of the Year 1991. He was inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame and in 2001 was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame.

Wayne Gardner took part in an entertaining seminar with students in years 7 and 8. Video highlights of his racing career, as well as his website, were projected onto a large screen. He was able to leave the students with a very powerful message: education is very important and students should try their best at all times.

Maurie Mulheron teaches at Keira HS and is a member of Federation Executive.

©2000-2002 NSWTF Online is a resource for teachers
provided by the NSW Teachers Federation.
[Authorisation of election comment] [Privacy]

http://www.nswtf.org.au/journal_extras/back.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005