On Thursday, our school community of students, staff and parents came together for a very special ‘Peace’ themed Anzac Day assembly, led with heart and thoughtfulness by our Year 5/6 students.

We gathered to remember those who served and sacrificed for peace, and to reflect on how we can carry their legacy forward with empathy, courage and care.

Parent and guest speaker Kerry Pickrill, Vice Chair of Veterans Assist Great Southern, shared a powerful reflection within his speech:

“Peace doesn’t just mean ‘no fighting’. Peace means helping one another, being kind, listening and working together, even when we don’t all agree”

Following Kerry’s speech, one of our Year 6 students recited an adaptation of Langston Hughes’ 1945 poem titled ‘Give Us Peace’ - a call for peace that uplifts humanity, rights wrongs, and builds a peaceful, more unified world.

Through song, poetry and reflection, our students reminded us that peace comes from conscious and active daily acts of kindness, inclusion and understanding.

Every time we choose kindness, every time we lift someone up, we honour those who sacrificed everything so we may live in peace and harmony.

Lest we forget.

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Kerry Pickrill's Full Speech:

I often ask myself, what does ANZAC day mean to me?
and you know what? I don’t really know.

We are reminded that it is a day to remember and honour the brave men and women who have served and currently serve our country, especially the ANZACs, the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who went to war a long time ago.

We are reminded to remember their courage, their strength, and how they looked after each other through mateship, even in the hardest of times.

Today, I want to talk to you about what I believe ANZAC day means to me and to the future of Australia — and that is peace.

Peace doesn’t just mean “no fighting.”

Peace means helping one another, being kind, listening, and working together, even when we don’t all agree.

The ANZACs fought in wars because they were trying to protect peace — for their families, for their friends, and for the future.

YOU are that future.

And that’s why all of you are so important.
Every time you include someone who feels left out...
Every time you say sorry when you’ve made a mistake…
Every time you choose kindness over anger…
You are making the world a better place.

Let’s honour the ANZACs not just by remembering their courage, but by building a better future together.