Recently, a team of brave teachers set out for the city via train to escort Year 9 to Stand Tall at the International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. Despite the early start to the day, Year 9 appeared to enjoy the adventure of catching the train to the city to join close to 6,000 other young people for the event.
They were Pymble proud during the official event welcome from Bronwyn Taylor, Australian politician, and the NSW Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women when she spotted our students and shared that she too was “a Pymble girl”. The event was full of hope and inspirational speakers. One of our students, Maddy, even made it on stage for a dance off!
Ultimately, there were three key ideas for students to leave the Stand Tall event with:
- Self-belief and hope that they can enjoy a successful future.
- The power of resilience and how not to let the past dictate the future.
- How to take a stand against bullying and other dangerous behaviours and become leaders.
“Wow! What an amazing experience. I feel so privileged to be part of today’s event. I especially liked Michael Crossland because it made me realise that people are going to say that you won’t be able to do something, but you need to keep pushing through. When Michael told us his story it made me realise that we don’t need to be told to do things – we should all chip in and help each other.” Lucinda – Year 9
