Our determination to shine a spotlight on our marvellous alumni throughout 2023 has resulted in your amazing stories that we have shared with the BHS and wider communities. Thank you for allowing us to do so and thank you for inspiring our students with your careers and achievements.
As a way of recording our stories we have created a Semester One poster which we are sharing to our social media.
It has come up a treat and I wanted you to have a copy.
Thirty-seven years ago I graduated from Balwyn High School’s Year 12 class of 1986. I left the school with mixed memories.
On the one hand I came away with a fine appreciation for maths and science, made a lifelong friend, and passed my HSC with decent results that got me into college.
On the other hand I had been the victim of homophobic bullying and torment throughout my time there, and suffered greatly as a result of it, and of my fear of being gay. The school had no support for gay students, at least that I was aware of. It was a topic that simply wasn’t spoken about.
I am thrilled beyond belief to find that in 2023 my alma mater not only supports gay students but is committed to providing a safe, nourishing and inclusive space for all LGBTQI+ students.
When invited to submit a contribution for their Lion newsletter on the occasion of receiving my Order of Australia, I had no idea it would be intentionally included to time with IDAHOBIT Day on May 17.
Students at Balwyn High are most fortunate to have a school environment that values diversity, particularly under the leadership of Principal Deborah Harman.
Thank you Balwyn High School.
Our Alumni Spotlights continue – Malcolm Speed AO and Michael Barnett OAM
This week we feature international sporting administrator, Malcolm Speed, who was inducted into the Sport Hall of Achievement in 2012, and Michael Barnett, who was recently awarded an OAM in the New Year’s Honours List. The spotlight on Michael deliberately coincides with this week’s celebrations for IDAHOBIT Day that we marked on Wednesday.
Both Malcolm and Michael are marvellous ambassadors for our school community, and we congratulate them for the impact they have made in their careers. I hope you enjoy reading their stories.
Macca and Dave are joined live in the studio by Michael Barnett, co-convenor of the Victoria-based LGBTIQ+ Jewish advocacy group Aleph Melbourne, as they discuss his recent Order of Australia Medal.
A trip to the garage to have a noise in my car fixed turned into an exceedingly good experience.
I had the best experience yesterday.
I was out driving when my car started making some concerning noises. I pulled over, checked under the bonnet and quickly saw where the issue was. However not knowing enough about the intricacies of the engine I felt an urgent trip to the trusty team of mechanics at Volkspower in Burwood was necessary.
A slipping clutch was making the noise.
I’d been a customer of theirs for a few years but I hadn’t taken my car to them for it’s most recent service. I arrived there, parked and was walking to reception when one of the mechanics ran out of the garage at top speed and yelled in my direction “Maaate! Maaate! Congratulations! I saw you on TV!”
I was a little taken aback, not expecting quite this level of fanfare on arrival. It quickly dawned on me though that he was referring to my appearance on Adam Hills in Gordon St earlier in March. I said “You’re talking about Adam Hills?” He nodded affirmatively and said “I was watching and realised I knew the guy on the screen and wanted to tell you but hadn’t seen you in ages.”
I was chuffed. That made my day, despite having a problematic car to deal with. Brett then disappeared back to the garage.
A fuse turned out to be the culprit.
The annoying noise turned out to be a slipping clutch on the air-conditioning. Between Brett and (the very hunky) Ricky they found the underlying problem was due to a fuse in the battery controller block that dirty contacts. This was preventing sufficient power delivery to the car. Ricky replaced the fuse, plugged the car into his computer and found that everything was now working ok. This very simple fix averted a potentially expensive repair.
Thanks to the great team at Volkspower for an exceedingly good experience.
