creativity
SPEECH NIGHT 2020 Required to pivot from the time-honoured tradition of holding Speech Night in an auditorium or concert hall, the Ruyton community gathered to watch the Class of 2020 be sent off in the most creative way. Whilst participating students processed through our gardens and then stood in Hisock Court watching key speakers on the outdoor stage, families and other staff attended the ceremony online from home. In her Principal’s Address, Linda Douglas addressed the Ruyton community with the following speech: Good evening Virginia McLaughlan, Directors of the Board, parents, friends, staff, girls and, most importantly the Class of 2020. We entered 2020 with great plans for events, occasions, milestones and journeys. Our dreams were quickly dashed as we spent much of this year in our homes; together apart. The year started with devastating bushfires where the humility and courage of our firefighters and the strength of our community made us proud to be Australian. Those bushfires cruelly burned our country, decimated wildlife and plunged communities into fear and devastation. As the embers cooled a damaging hailstorm hit Victoria and then the pandemic descended, with our community rallying and uniting again.
A year like no other. Victorians lived through a severe 112 day lockdown to suppress the second wave. During this time many found inspiration and joy in Freeman, the documentary that followed Cathy Freeman’s journey from childhood to the race that stopped the nation on 25 September 2000. So much more than a race or a medal, Freeman embodied and carried the story, hopes and dreams of a nation. An unexpectedly beautiful marriage of dance, history, sport and politics in an era when the federal government refused to apologise to the stolen generations. 20 years later, with racial inequity highlighted internationally we watched Cathy’s story; her resilience, her humility and her pride. In Cathy’s words: ‘I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone. I feel the sunshine in my chest. I feel the people, I feel the energy. I feel like I am being protected. My people were the first people to walk on this land. Those girls were always going to have to come up against my ancestors.’ She ran for herself but she ran for the people. She understood the power of unity. And Freeman noted that we all carry some sort of anger or fury or sadness or pain. Humility is a personality trait often overlooked in today’s fast moving world, an ability to accurately acknowledge one’s limitations and abilities, an interpersonal stance that is otheroriented rather than self-focused.
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the ruyton reporter
