BOMBALA High School presidents elect, Keiren Rodwell and Veronika Hartmeier, were welcome visitors at Government House and Parliament House in Sydney last week.
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Keiren and Veronika, accompanied by Year 12 advisor Donna Shelley, set off to Canberra airport to fly to Sydney to attend the Secondary Schools Student Leadership Program.
“Our day started with various Members of Parliament addressing students about their pathways into parliament with the theme of each journey being active in the community,” Ms Shelley said.
“Bombala, Braidwood, Monaro and Moruya students were then introduced to our local MP, John Barilaro, and received a parliamentary pen as a souvenir of their visit.
“We were lucky enough to visit while parliament was sitting and were able to visit the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) and Legislative Council (Upper House) and see our NSW government in action.
“We were even mentioned in the Hansard as Mr Barilaro was Acting Speaker,” she said.
After lunch at Parliament House the group walked to Government House where they were given a brief tour of the house before converging in the ballroom to hear
a very inspirational address by Her Excellency, The Honourable Professor Marie Bashir.
“Her Excellency gave us her background as well as a brief but extremely powerful Australian history lesson and an overview of the role of the Governor of NSW,” Ms Shelley said.
“We all found her presentation entertaining and interesting.
“Keiren and Veronika were introduced to Her Excellency and were lucky enough to have their photo taken with her,” she said.
Afternoon tea on the terrace and the opportunity to wander the beautiful gardens concluded the formal part of the day.
The group made the most of their Sydney visit, also taking in Darling Harbour and Chinatown.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Keiren and Veronika for an amazing adventure,” Ms Shelley said.
“Our 2014 presidents mingled confidently with the presidents from other schools, sharing their experiences as school leaders.
“They are both excellent role models and should be congratulated on both their leadership within our school as well as their positive approach to attending this opportunity.
“It was a pleasure to experience this valuable excursion with them, even if we have all now decided that politics is certainly not a career path for any of us!
“A big thank you also to the Bombala High School Executive and P & C for supporting this invaluable excursion,” she said.
