CAGS representatives: Back row (L-R) Lyra Mete, Cadence Pang, Emily Orsida, Harrison Brooker and Caitlin Welch; front row (L-R) principal Keith Willett, Makayla Pestrucci, Lacey Eddy, Olivia Thompson and head of music Trish Chmiel.
From March 27 to 31, eight Cobram Anglican Grammar School students attended the Anglican Schools Commission’s Schools Week in Perth, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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Accompanied by school principal Keith Willett and head of music Trish Chmiel, the eight hand-picked students took part in the biennial event which celebrates Anglican identity.
Olivia Thompson and Lyra Mete were two of the students who had the time of their lives.
Lyra, like all her fellow students on the trip, had never visited Perth before.
Talking to the Courier, Lyra said she was a bit nervous.
“I think just being away from home for so long. And being in a new area was a little bit scary,” she said.
Among the activities the students undertook were visiting different schools and interacting with the students, exploring Perth and taking part in the ASC Schools concert in which the CAGS students participated as members of a mass choir of 150 singers.
Lifting the roof: The end-of-week concert, the culmination of the 2023 Anglican Schools Commission’s Schools Week in Perth.
Lyra said that for her the concert was the highlight of the trip and that she had never performed in such an event.
Away from the concert and during ‘official’ school activities Lyra said her favourite thing was networking with other students and going to the beach in Freemantle.
Such positive sentiments of the trip were echoed by Olivia.
For her, the highlight was also the end-of-week concert, her favourite song performed being Gloria.
Olivia said the trip had a positive impact.
“The trip helped me grow by helping me overcome my fears of performing in front of lots of people,” she said.
Like Lyra, the social aspect and the recreational activities were also a highlight for Olivia, which included networking with other Anglican students, going shopping and bowling.
Sightseeing: Lyra Mete, Lacey Eddy, Olivia Thompson and Makayla Pestrucci enjoy seeing Perth, including seeing the Indian Ocean for the first time.
“It was really fun meeting the other kids from the other Anglican schools. We became really good friends with the kids from Trinity,” Olivia said.
For the students the school trips in particular were eye-opening as they experienced being part of school cohorts made up of more than 1000 students.
Ms Chmiel said the students had the trip of a lifetime and would understand the full magnitude of what they achieved in the years to come.
“It was really amazing,” Ms Chmiel said.
She said the trip was as much about the personal growth of the students as their participation at the ASC Schools Week and the students’ conduct throughout the trip was really wonderful to see as they grew and learnt how to be more independent.
“All of the students had never been to Perth ... Staying in a hotel they had quite a lot of freedom and they really respected that and showed they could look after themselves and act responsibly.”
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