It isn’t often that you can say your hometown is a character in your school formal photo shoot, but for Gulgong High School’s lucky seniors, it’s just that.
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It was a bittersweet end to years of schooling at Gulgong High School last week when the graduating class of 2018 donned their best for a final send off at Gulgong RSL, but not before taking the opportunity to pose around the ten dollar town for a memorable photo shoot.
The Mudgee Guardian spoke to Carly Sewell, who does double duty as careers and year advisor to this year’s graduating seniors about how it felt to see off students she’s been working with closely for the last few years.
“I’ve had these guys since they were in year 9,” she said.
“It’s sad to watch them leave officially but it’s exciting to watch what they’re going to do next.”
“We’re quite a close knit little group. We used to refer to ourselves as a family being a small school there were only 23 in that year group so they have their home room which we call the senior study and my office is inside that home room.”
“We’d have morning teas and birthday cakes all the time. When there were issues we’d have family meetings and sort them out, so it’s quite sad to see them go but I know that I will remain in close contact with a lot of them because even thought they’ve officially finished and left school, they’ll still contact me for help in regards to resumes and cover letters since my other role is careers advisor.”
“I’m watching them all get early entry to university and a couple have traineeships and apprenticeships so it’s really nice to watch them all grow and develop and I’m pretty sure I’ll see them in the future.”
Kate Freestone was the photographer for the event and shared her photos with the Mudgee Guardian.
Her aim was to include Gulgong as part of the shoot so the students can look back years later and remember the town they came from.
“I think that’s iconic for students. In 20 years time when they look back at their high school photos to remember that that was our little town. Instead of the traditional boring formal photos.” Carly said.
The event was held at the Gulgong RSL and Carly said she was glad to see the students stick around after the formalities.
“We had a great night, the students all got really dressed up. Lots of family and friends attended and they had a great DJ. It was just a really nice night to celebrate what’s been a successful 13 years of schooling.”