It was such a delight to finally enjoy our Centenary Gala event last Saturday night at Leonda organised by our Foundation Office Team. This event was part of our suite of 2020-2022 Centenary celebrations including a 2020 Commencement Service with the Governor of Victoria, the launch of our Inspiring Women of CGGS program, the release of our Centenary Stories book and a Centenary Founders’ Day Service at St Paul’s Cathedral, our guests were ready to celebrate after two previous postponements.
The evening was enthusiastically emceed by grammarian and current parent Emma Race. Emma was the perfect host. With her focus on sport, Emma believes that women’s voices in broadcasting right through to boardrooms, are essential to create diverse and healthy communities. She is the host of the Outer Sanctum Podcast, the Number 1 ticket holder for the Hawthorn Football Club and in 2020 Emma was named in the top 50 most influential voices in football, using her platform to create additional programs for women and girls in sport.
Connected by a strong belief in our vision and values, the Centenary Gala was an evening reflective of our broad community from current and past Council Members, parents, grammarians, staff and benefactors all celebrating the joy of belonging to the CGGS community and supporting the community into the future. We were honoured to witness Murrundindi’s Welcome to Country, energetic dancing to live music, hear happy chatter, and voices bidding for the live auction items in a captivating way!
Terry McAleenan spoke enthusiastically about the Parents and Friends Association as a pivotal group to connect parents, build community and to fundraise for specialized equipment and programs to support our educational programs. I am delighted to announce that we raised over $26,000 from the Live and Silent Auctions on the evening and are now able to purchase new Choir Risers for our Performing Arts program that will be used by all students across the school.
Special occasions like the Centenary Gala enable us to connect again in friendship and purpose after what has been very challenging times. They remind us of how together we all play a special part in building community and providing the best educational opportunities for our students now and into the future.
This week our community has also been brought together by the production of Matilda and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks.
With best wishes,
Debbie Dunwoody
Principal
