Students get a lesson in style

STUDENTS pressed their hands and faces against the classroom windows to get a glimpse of the lady in red during her visit last week.
Stepping out in a tailored red suit, matching lipstick and oversized clutch, it was fitting that the glamorous Governor-General Quentin Bryce made a stop at the Dandenong High School for a tour of the stylish new buildings.
“Victoria has very exciting architecture,” she told principal Martin Culkin while walking through the award-winning designed school. “Environment is so important to learning – the environment is absolutely vital.”
Students beamed as Ms Bryce walked past them and asked questions about their work – seemingly unfazed by the media frenzy that followed.
When Ms Bryce approached one student to ask about homework, another student quietly expressed his disappointment at having missed out.
“We should have sat there,” he whispered to his friend.
Year 12 students Johnson and Karen were the lucky pair chosen to welcome Ms Bryce to the school. Karen said she was honoured to do so.
“I don’t think there has been anyone bigger (in status) visiting the school before,” she said. “It’s such an honour. She is brilliant – she’s so humble.”
Johnson said he experienced the jitters before her arrival. “I was nervous,” he said. “I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.”
It was evident Mr Culkin was just as thrilled as the students about Ms Bryce’s visit – with a smile beaming from ear to ear.
As he excitingly guided her through the classrooms, Mr Culkin resembled a youngster pulling on a parent’s sleeve eager to show them what they had accomplished.
Despite all the excitement, students shifted their focus when the final bell rang, with one student telling a friend, “okay, it’s home time now.”
But after they left the school, Ms Bryce remained a hot topic of conversation. “You know if Australia becomes a republic, we get rid of the Governor-General,” a student told another as they left the grounds.
“We should keep her.”
– Lia Bichel