On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute’s silence is observed and dedicated to those soldiers who have died fighting to protect the nation.
At Noosa District State High School this Remembrance Day, not only one minute’s silence was used as a mark of respect for fallen soldiers, their commemoration has, for the first time, been symbolised by a magnificent visual display of the poppy as the flower of remembrance.
Inspired by a personal experience of witnessing the 62,000 handmade poppies at the Canberra War Memorial, art and technology head of department, Anne Collingwood visualised that a similar display could be created at the school as a mark of respect.
Volunteering to help, teacher Cathy Eden worked alongside Anne and an enthusiastic group of students at crochet club to hand craft these remarkable flowers.
As the year became busy, they soon realised that to make the display truly incredible the school would need to enlist help from the community.
After one single social media appeal, they soon had numerous kind and generous community members willing to donate their skills, time and yarn. Within a few short weeks, a few poppies became a few hundred poppies.
Special thanks go to Joanne Drysdale for coordinating a large donation of poppies from the Eumundi branch of the QCWA, Fiona Parker a local crochet teacher who mobilised all of her classes, enlisting help from Sophie Paras, Shari Herbert, Joanne Murphy and Vanessa Schmidt, and community members Gaye Schrader and Luarna Larsen, all helping with poppy making.
Anne drew on her vast experience at creating spectacular visual displays and problem solved the installation of the poppies.
A working bee ensued, gathering willing and able volunteers among teaching staff, support staff and student leaders across all grades.
The end result is not only an incredible mark of remembrance, but a reflection of the soul of the Noosa community.
For the right cause, people are kind, generous and will work in a team, help and support one another.
