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Words: Jeremy Humm
Photos: Jeremy Humm
October 14th, 2009
MELBOURNE EXCHANGE REWARD
EVERY YEAR a lucky handful of students from the Clontarf Academy are picked to go to Melbourne for a week long exchange to St.Kevins College in Toorak.
After three and a half terms of outstanding attitude and effort towards school and training, Curtley Mow, Juan Jeffries, Roy Slater and James Gilbert were rewarded with opportunity of a lifetime.
Coming from rural communities Meekatharra, Quairading and Jigalong, these four lads spent the week with the students and families from St.Kevins College adapting to there way of life. It was the first time to Melbourne for all four boys and a special occasion for Roy who had never been a plane before.
Monday morning the boys arrived at school a little nervous and unsure of what to expect from the week, confronted by 1300 St.Kevins students all dressed in shirt, tie and blazer the boys in true Clontarf nature adapted to there new found surroundings to experience life in one of Australia’s biggest and busiest cities.
After spending the first day at school meeting new students and teachers, the boys were keen to see what else Melbourne had on offer.
In a brand new Ford Falcon hire car, the boys would cruise across town daily to watch AFL clubs Richmond Tigers and Essendon Bombers train, sightseeing atop of Eureka Tower, shopping at Melbourne Central and Queen Victoria Markets and on the weekend, attend the MCG to watch the Bombers vs Hawks.
There were many highlights from the week from meeting AFL players Shane Tuck, Richard Tambling, Andrew Lovett, and Nathan Lovett-Murray, kicking the ball around with Matthew Lloyd, getting free footy boots from Bomber Hayden Skipworth to a deadly ‘hanger’ comp in Fitzroy gardens.
The real highlight for the boys was hanging out with old Clontarf and AFL stars Patty Ryder and Alroy Gilligan who not only had a chat to the boys, but joined them for a night at dinner and playing games at Crown Casino. The boys were fantastic and made the boys feel apart of the bigger Clontarf family.
The week in a nutshell was an unbelievable experience. Well done the boys for there great maturity and behavior while away, they were a credit to themselves, the foundation and there families! Well done!
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