It was a day of connections, conversations and cherished memories at this year’s St Anne’s Day celebration at Gippsland Grammar’s St Anne’s Campus last month.
This much-anticipated annual tradition welcomes back former students of St Anne’s Church of England Girls’ Grammar School — the name of Gippsland Grammar in its earliest years —for a special Fellowship service alongside current students, followed by a luncheon hosted by Head of Campus Jie Van Berkel.
More than 25 Old Scholars attended this year’s event, including former deputy principal and Old Scholar from the Class of 1980, Jan Henry, who gave the keynote address at the Fellowship.
Ms Henry reflected warmly on her own time at the school and the lifelong bonds formed in the schoolyard.
“It’s about the way we share, the way we care for each other and the way we support each other,” Ms Henry told the former and current students at the Fellowship in the campus’s Lorna Sparrow Hall.
“That connection is what makes us all feel a sense of belonging, and it’s what brings people like me, and so many others, back to the school today.”
Ms Henry also shared the story of meeting her best friend Jane at the school 50 years ago — a friendship that has spanned decades, international travel and countless shared moments.
“That friendship brings me deep contentment, and it all started with a single connection right here at school,” Ms Henry said.
“My hope is that whether you’ve been part of this community for 50 years or just five months, you look for ways to keep building those connections and the legacy that is St Anne’s.”
Gippsland Grammar was established by the second Bishop of Gippsland, the Right Reverend George Cranswick, in 1924 with just four students.
Over the past 101 years, the school has incorporated five educational institutions, including the original Church of England Girls’ School Sale, evolving into the Gippsland Grammar of today, which caters for more than 1100 students and employs 280 staff.
To coincide with this year’s St Anne’s Day, St Paul’s Cathedral in Sale invited families from the St Anne’s Campus and the wider Gippsland Grammar community to a special service on Sunday, July 27.
The service was attended by a number of Old Scholars who had also taken part in the St Anne’s Day luncheon, including Jocelyn Brand (Class of 1961) from Paynesville, Anne Archbold (Class of 1968) from Bundalaguah, and Sally Friend (Class of 1967) and Marion Hector (Class of 1955), both from Sale.
The Old Scholars joined with Jie Van Berkel, Deputy Head of Campus Julie Jago and Campus Captain Elena Lazzaro to sing the St Anne’s school song Bless our School to the congregation.
St Paul’s Cathedral and Gippsland Grammar share a long and close relationship, with the original school originally starting on the Cathedral site.
Following the service, some of the former students joined current Campus Captain Elena Lazzaro for a photo in front of the Cathedral’s stained-glass window that represents the Diocese’s links to Gippsland Grammar. Installed in 1981, the window recognises that St Anne’s and Gippsland Grammar commenced on the Cathedral site and features the school’s crest.
Gippsland Grammar maintains strong connections with its former students and hosts an annual Decades reunion.
This year’s reunion will be held on Saturday, October 18 at the school’s Garnsey Campus in Sale.
Old Scholars from the cohorts of 1965 (60 years), 1975 (50 years), 1985 (40 years), 1995 (30 years), 2005 (20 years) and 2015 (10 years) are invited to attend.
