Students urged to share Anzac spirit

By Jim Mynard
GEMBROOK MP Tammy Lobato has invited year nine students to apply for the 2007 Spirit of Anzac competition.
Ten students will be selected to participate in a twoweek study tour to sites of significance in Turkey, Belgium and France.
Ms Lobato said the competition was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about our nation’s past and to represent Victoria on an important overseas trip.
The 2006 tour chaperone, Casey councillor Wayne Smith, has endorsed the competition.
Cr Smith said it provided a fantastic opportunity for young people to travel overseas on the 2007 Spirit of Anzac Prize Tour to Turkey, France and Belgium.
“I was very proud and honoured to have travelled with the 2006 prize winners to Singapore, Vietnam and Japan as a teacher chaperone,” Cr Smith said.
“This was a lifechanging journey for both the students and myself.
“The students who travelled earlier this year have become a very closeknit group, having met several times since our return to share memories and newfound friendships.”
Cr Smith said he was prepared to visit secondary schools and clubs to talk about the journey.
Ms Lobato said, as well as giving young people the chance to learn about men and women who served Australia, the successful study tour recipients would be able to pass on the knowledge they gained.
She said students were required to explore the topic that the Anzac spirit of courage, initiative, determination, mateship and humour, as demonstrated in 1915 at Gallipoli, was still relevant to young people in Victoria.
Entries can range from poems and essays to multimedia presentations, including audios, videos presentations, web pages and graphics. All Victorian 2006 year nine students are eligible to enter.
Applications close on Friday, 25 August, with entries required by Friday, 6 October.
Regional finalists will be informed in early December, with the study tour for 10 successful students taking place in April next year.
Information and registration forms are available from www.veterans.vic.gov.au, or from Ms Lobato’s electorate office.