Berwick Secondary College students at work on their stock of environmentally friendly merchandise. From left: Jack Willems, Jamie Parker, Nathan Begovic, Simone Burles, Michael Brown, John Koch, Guy Parker, Jezeme Findlay, Penny Moores, Michael Barrett, Chris Vongphone, Lucas Katsanis, Nathan Thompson, and Chris Graham. Absent: Nick Hunter.YOUNG people were in the spotlight last week, not that they usually aren’t one way or another.
But I had the privilege of seeing them at their best when I attended the City of Casey/Rotarysponsored men’s mentor breakfast, St Margaret’s annual concert, and a class at Berwick Secondary College.
On Saturday evening I will see the Berwick Youth choir in concert.
Both concerts have a new home in the Rosanove Auditorium at St Margaret’s School Berwick, and students met at the Casey Civic Centre for the breakfasts.
My colleague Narelle Coulter spoke highly of the City of Casey/Guides Victoria women’s mentor breakfast and I saw plenty of networking between students and mentors at the men’s breakfast.
Oddly, I am told that organisers have more trouble getting students than mentors to attend the breakfasts.
If this is the case it is time for the City of Casey and Rotary representatives to get around to a few principals to get the message across to increase the 50 or so students to perhaps double the number at breakfasts.
These functions are invaluable to students at this age and I would rather see them brought along in a taxi than miss out if transport is not available.
Excellent guest speakers at both breakfasts gave their guests plenty of food for thought as well as the mentors.
One of my memorable musical pleasures was the opening segment of the St Margaret’s concert on Friday evening.
These concerts are usually good, but I found myself wondering if I was not sitting in a large metropolitan concert hall.
The senior orchestra and a capella choir performed ‘Whisper of Angels’ and ‘Isabel’ in a stage setting and performance that called up enormous feeling and pleasure that audiences in regional areas would not often experience.
And the show went on to entertain with a variety of excellent performances. You expect the best possible standard of music and presentation in the metropolitan concert halls, but there is something special about seeing such a high standard in the smaller theatre.
The setting was colourful and disciplined and the sound was beautiful.
This caused me to wonder just how much dedication and time was contributed to those few minutes of performance.
Then we have the Berwick Secondary College students preparing for a day at the first anniversary of the Gembrook Sustainable Market on Sunday, 27 August.
The students will sell a range of products from Australian wattle seedlings in papiermache pots that can be planted straight into the soil and a liquid worm castings concentrate.
If you feel disposed toward a Sunday drive on the last weekend before spring, please pop in to see their work and offer a little encouragement.
