On Sunday April 22, the Senior Choir met with the choir from Croydon Primary School to sing for the ANZAC Day Service held by the Croydon RSL. The service began with the War Veterans marching down Civic Square. They had jeeps to ride in, and there was even a bagpipe band and light cavalry horseman leading the way. These kinds of services are always very formal, with lots of speeches. The choir sat quietly, stood when asked to and were very respectful towards all that had to be presented on the day.
Wreaths were laid, first by our School Captain, Chloe M and Green House Captain, Grace S, for our Federal Member of Parliament, Tony Smith. Later, our two Senior Choir Leaders, Phoebe J and Emma R laid the school’s wreath. They did this beautifully, with full ceremony and the deepest respect.
After the laying of the wreaths the choir finally stood to sing in front of the Veterans, their families and friends. There were at least 200 people in the audience.
We had a few surprises – such as the order of our songs swapped – so the choir ended up singing The Spirit of the ANZACS first and then In Flanders Fields. As usual, they performed with great focus and determination, taking everything in their stride. Although they did not have a rehearsal this time with the Croydon PS Choir, everyone sang really well. There was great acknowledgment at the end of each song.
Thank you to all the choir families who managed to get there.
We followed up with a lovely and respectful ANZAC Day assembly at school where Sam from the Croydon RSL spoke to the students about his experiences and what the day means to him. The students learnt a lot and were extremely respectful.