Foundation President’s Report

SCOTT CHIRNSIDE, PRESIDENT OF THE GEELONG COLLEGE FOUNDATION

For over 30 years The Geelong College Foundation have been proud to support the school’s annual showcase of the very best of the music program, and this year was no exception.

Our new Director of Music, Scott Templeton, put together a wonderful program for the 31st Foundation Concert which was held on 11 August at Costa Hall.

We started the evening with the youngest voices in our school with a wonderful rendition of ‘My Favourite Things’ by Roger and Hammerstein, and finished the evening with the combined voices of our Geelong College community singing ‘Baba Yetu’ by Christopher Tin and the school song ‘Sic Itur Ad Astra’ by Paul Jarman.

All of the bands, orchestras and choirs that performed on the night are to be applauded. Thank you to the dedicated members of the music staff, the 2023 Music Captains Hannah Phung and Baxter Pullin, and most of all, thank you to the music students at The Geelong College for putting on a wonderful night of entertainment. The Foundation looks forward to supporting the music program at the College in this way for many years to come.

Scholarships

Our focus for Annual Giving this year was on the importance of our equity scholarships and we were thrilled that so many from our community gave to this appeal to help us achieve our objectives.

Pegasus Scholarships: This program focuses on providing assistance to students who display general excellence and who are experiencing financial hardship. By supporting our Pegasus General Excellence Scholarship Fund, you

are giving a student the opportunity to shine through an exceptional education at The Geelong College.

The Dr Bill Williams Tjungurrayi Scholarship: This Scholarship Fund was established in May 2018 to support Indigenous students attending The Geelong College. This scholarship program recognises Old Collegian, Dr Bill Williams (OGC 1972), by continuing his work in actively addressing Indigenous disadvantage by supporting the education of Indigenous students.

Thank you to all of those in our community who continue to support our Scholarships program.

If you are interested in learning more about supporting scholarships at The Geelong College, I would encourage you to discuss your interests with our Associate Director of Advancement, Mr Peter Moran on 5226 3194.

Foundation Events

The 2023 College Prefects dined with our Foundation Members in the Dining Hall on 28 July at our annual Foundation Lunch.

Our guest speaker, sports journalist and author Mr John Craven, regaled us with stories from his new book

The Conquerors: 100 Geelong Region All-Time International Sports Greats and Brownlow Medallists. It was interesting to note that 14 of those mentioned in this book were Old Geelong Collegians and one was a current staff member.

School Captains, Chantal Mason and Tom Greer, spoke to our members about their time at the College and their goals and dreams for the future. Having multiple generations attend this lunch is both unique and worthwhile, so thank you to the prefects for giving up their lunchtime to join us.

On 28 October we hosted over 70 Morongo Old Collegians for lunch in the Dining Hall. We were captivated listening to our 2023 Morongo Award recipient Edwina Royce, and our guest speaker Wendy Holdenson (MOC 1970), who talked about her time at Morongo and living in Japan as Consul-General and Trade & Investment Commissioner.

Wendy is currently a Director of Mitsui & Co (Australia) Ltd. and spoke on the topics of women’s equality and the importance of the relationship between Asia and Australia in terms of education, renewable energy and trade. We were fortunate to have the Presto String Quartet entertain us during the afternoon – many thanks to College students Lexie Blockey, Matthew Kweh, Lachie Chen and Harriet Wright for a wonderful performance.

This year the members of our bequest society, the Morrison Society, and Patrons of the Foundation enjoyed morning tea at the Principal’s residence, hosted by Mrs Naomi Miller, on 27 October. Many of our guests then went to tour the VCE Arts & Design Exhibition where Mr Kevin Jess, Head of Design & Creative Arts, explained some of the students’ exceptional work.

Foundation Fellowships

Our newest Foundation Fellows for 2023 are Delle Ritchie, Sophia Shen, Adrian Blades, Fabio D’Agostin and Aron Tremul – congratulations on this achievement; the Board looks forward to you presenting your outcomes from your further education.

On a final note, thank you to the members of the Foundation Board for another exceptional year of supporting the school and achieving our objectives. As volunteers, your contribution of time, knowledge and wisdom is invaluable and greatly appreciated.