Objects of Substance- Year 12 Motto Plaques

After this, mottos were only recorded publically when the Year 12 cohort presented the School with a gift. One example can be found in the Hirst Building café where the 2007 cohort gifted the Stop! Grammartime clock. Their motto was Create the bonds in 007 . In 2007, after the completion of the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre, a new philanthropic program was introduced. Aere Perennius [from Horace: I have created a monument more lasting than bronze] was established in 2008 as a means of recognising donations made to the Masterplan and its launch coincided with the capital fundraising campaign for the Cherrell Hirst building. Individual bronze plaques containing inspirational quotations selected by the donors, were commissioned and displayed on a level 1 wall in the Hirst building. It was this influence which prompted me to suggest to the 2011 Head Girls, Angelique Sweep and Lucinda Tonge, that they approach the Principal, Dr Amanda Bell, seeking permission to place the year’s motto in bronze on a wall in the Hirst Building. Thus, the practice of placing each year’s motto in bronze began in 2011, with the unveiling normally occurring in the final week for the Year 12 cohort. In Lucinda Tonge’s words, “I love that the spirit of our year group is captured in a tangible way for girls to see for years to come.”

2011 Head Girls, Angelique Sweep and Lucinda Tonge with the first plaque.