NO TIME FOR A REST PHIL!

WELL, WELL !
Take a look at this, our intrepid Committee member.  He is having a "CAT NAP".  HEY there Phil, no time for a rest; we have a reunion to get ready for.
 
Any thought for a caption that might suit this picture?  What is he dreaming about?  What is he thinking about?

We would like some feedback on this one.

News Broadcast #2

Hello All.

Momma Mia, it is just less than 90 days to the Mayfield West reunion for the 5th and 6th classes of 1963. How 47yrs has flown by is beyond comprehension.  It is scary to see the digital clock at  http://maywestreunion.blogspot.com/  and to see the time peel off at such a rapid rate...

Further, while visiting the blog, I could not help but notice that Margaret has posted young Bob McAlpine's (the Irish whiz kid) School Reunion Poem!  In a nutshell, what a talent Bob has hidden for all these years - we will probably hear on the night from the teachers in attendance, how they nurtured this talented 'kid' through his formative years!

Besides the hidden talent that Bob has now displayed, other hidden treasures of the past have been unearthed with three more 'kids' surfacing.  Thanks to Jeanie Barlow, who was temporarily lost, and Sue-Ellen Willis, Janice van de Werken has now been located and she lives in Carey Bay.  In another surprise finding, John Morris has been located in Surry Hills, Sydney.  Margaret showed ingenuity and contacted Milton Morris of Liberal Party fame; John is his son.  Well done Margaret.

Now as most of you are aware, there has been a request for a recent photo of you so the girls of the committee can piece together 'a current pictorial' of all students as part of an excellent presentation to be presented to the students on the night.  Can you please assist the committee by organizing any worthwhile shot of yourself sooner rather than later so that it does not become a mad last minute rush for Lesley and Margaret!  Thanks for your early attention to their request.  Oh and one final comment on this; the GIRLS have face recognition software at their disposal so if it is a group or family photo you submit, they can remove the unnecessary 'extras' and concentrate or focus on you.

Now what is next?  I had promised a broad outline of proceedings for the night, but as Lesley is hard at work I have not pressured her for that info...next broadcast email.

Guess that will do for the time being, but before I finish, the steering committee decided that we should look for something to present to the teachers for their guidance.  It is not to be too big or too flash, so if you have an idea or ideas, please let us know by email or a phone call.  We are organizing large 'Thank you' cards too for all to sign on the night.

Till the next broadcast email, I hope you are all enjoying cooler and dryer weather.

Regards

Phil.

P.S.  Requests have already started to filter to the committee from students wanting special seating arrangements on the night!    Don't be left out in the cold!   If you have a special request to sit next to a heart throb - act NOW!  Contact Margaret to request. margisa1@bigpond.com

A POEM TO CELEBRATE OUR SCHOOL REUNION.

The school reunion is coming up fast
Come one and come all and we'll have a blast
Don't worry or fret that you won't make the grade
Cause those 'stunning' good looks have started to fade.

Remember the time, when our Teachers did see
A sea of bright faces with grins all aglee
With bodies fine tuned and energy bound
To leap and to run all over the grounds.

Our hair all combed neat and framing our face
Our uniforms pressed smooth, and in the right place
We did what we could to be honest and fair
We made our school proud and were glad we were there.

Now we are older and our life has moved on
We wonder at times how quick it has gone
What happened to Macca or Phil or to Harry?
Did their lives all work out and who did they marry?

It would be nice to see all of you
Davies, Davis and Unicomb too
To have a few ales and share some good fun
And thank them all for what they have done.

So don't worry at all about what you might think
Make it a plan to come for a drink
To share in a night that I know you will treasure
And bring home fond memories in very great measure.

If you don't show, the gap will be vast
Cause no-one but you can fill up the past
To share with your peers the life that you have led
And realize the difference is all in your head.

When puch comes to shove you will all see
That all of our lives come off the same tree
Things we have said, witnessed or done
When put in the mix, makes us all one.

When life deals the cards, we must all play our tote
And sometimes we win and sometimes we don't
But remember one thing and never forget
We are all in the game and it's not over yet.

by Bob McAlpine. 5B/6B  '63'

BIRTHDAYS FOR MARCH 2010

Well here it is March 2010. Now to the Birthdays for this month.

Iain Wells.........14th

Robert Lightfoot...........17th

Cheryl Anderson (Fitness).......24h

Don Shearman.........25th.

On behalf of the Mayfield West School Reunion Committee, we would like to take this opportunity in wishing you all a very Happy Birthday.  We hope you all have a wonderful Birthday with all your family and friends.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL EX-STUDENTS.

THIS IS AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL EX-STUDENTS OF 5th and 6th classes of '63'

Well I guess that this is slightly late in coming given the speed at which the Mayfield West School Reunion for the 5th and 6th classes of '63' is approaching this coming June. It was only 'yesterday' that the reunion was next year and then less than 6 months away...

Although I am in constant communication with Margaret Wright and Lesley Holdstock, the event has all of a sudden loomed as being just around the corner; not 6 months away but less than 15 weeks away in reality.

The progress and planning I am witnessing for the reunion has been excellent.  Margaret and Lesley as the principal organizers, have formed a formidable team and with the assistance of Clay Campbell (the terror of all classes rooms through my schooling) along with Russell Williams, Glenda Phillips and Mavis Shearman, the event is going to be a blinder, no not from a drinking perspective.

The committee has had numerous meetings. Yes! Mr Tony Davis and Mr Dave Davies, affectionately known as the GOOD OLD BOYS are right behind the event too, and are really into the swing of things.  I believe there has been direct communication with Loch Unicomb and Mr Tony Peart., both of whom will be involved in some capacity over the weekend.  I am using a family connection to have Miss Barbara Winney attend some of the events...

To summarize quickly the weekend's schedule, the reunion is on Saturday night June 5th at Charlestown Bowling Club followed by a family get together / picnic lunch at Mayfield West School (with spouse if you want) on the Sunday.  Contingency plans plans are being drawn to cover the advent of POUR WEATHER.- as in rain.!  What is also planned is a special assembly at Mayfield West P.S at 9:15am on the Monday to present a number of gifts that the Principal Mrs Debbie Skillen and staff have said would be greatly appreciated and just as importantly needed.

Sooooo, what can we do to assist make this reunion fantastic, brilliant and memorable?.  The answer to that is to simply get invovlved?  Please get behind the local committee, chase up missing kids, respond to surveys as they are emailed, or hard copied. and most importantly come to the reunion.  We ALL have fond memories (hopefully we do) of our days in Gregson Avenue.

Your attendance is paramount to making this reunion hugely successful.  However, it would appear that some are hesitant to attend due to a range of reasons such as having put weight on, lost weight (we all wish that probably), balding heads or in my case, hair as white as Mt  Kosciuszko (new corrected spelling) in winter -not a pretty sight I can assure you.  So the bottom line is simply come and enjoy yourself, reacquaint with OLD friends and do not worry about anything in your past or the position you may be in now - no one judges, we are all way past that these days.  The simple fact is that many of your school friends simply want to say hello, relive the good old days and to have fun on the night.to sit with existing or past friends I know that wish will be fulfilled, as Margaret and Lesley have said they will meet every req
In my next broadcast email, I will elaborate briefly on the format of the night without giving too much away. To be safe I will have Lesley Holdstock our M.C. for the early part of the evening, script a brief overview of events, events not to be missed.

See you all in June

Fond Regards

Phil Wratten   Distant Committee member.

COUNTDOWN CLOCK.

As you can see we now have a countdown clock to the big event on 5th June 2010.  Thanks to Phil Wratten's wife Del, who Phil says is a whiz at getting this sort of gadget working; she came to our rescue.

Thank you Del. We of the reunion committee really appreciate your input.  Just a gentle reminder to get your surveys in as this data is for your benefit on the night.

The formal invitations are due to go out anyday now.  Until next time.

UPDATE.

Start getting ready for a great night at            

CHARLESTOWN BOWLING CLUB........

Plenty of surprises are on the cards,  most of our teachers are still alive and some of them will be there with us to Celebrate the 46-47yrs since we left Mayfield West Public School in 1963-64.

Don't be afraid to come and join us, this will be a night of the "GOOD OLD DAYS" at school and friendships shared back then, and the opportunity to relive if only for a very brief moment chidhood memories and dreams.  Who cares what we look like now we are not 12yrs old anymore, age and gravity may have taken over, but the important thing is the spirit inside each and everyone of us.

Come and join us and have a great time catching up.  Just be yourself that is all it takes.

See you all there on the 5th June.

THE COUNT DOWN IS ON UNTIL THE BIG REUNION WEEKEND.

Well the count down is on  with less than 16 weeks to go until the big weekend.  Time to step up a gear and think about more things; with the second survey going out as we speak, and the formal invitation also in the process of being sent out.

With the formal invitation we need your reply by the 10th April for catering and organizing purposes.
Remember we need a recent photo of you so as that we can recognize you when you arrive at the Reunion.
Again to all who attended the 1991 6th Class School Reunion, this is a plea to you all about the MISSING PHOTO ALBUM - if you have it or know who does can you please make contact so we can access it for the night.

Remember any queries please do not hesitate to contact us on: maywestreunion@live.com or you may contact either Lesley Afflick(Holdstock) or Margaret Gayler (Wright)  individually.

PHOTO NEEDED FOR DINNER EVENT

Hi everyone we need a current head/shoulder photo of you for an item that we are preparing for the reunion event.

Can you please send either by:
 email this to maywestreunion@live.com  remember to reduce the photo to a thumbnail prior to sending  OR

by post to either Margaret Wright or Lesley Afflick

GOT SCHOOL REUNION "JITTERS"

Anyone who has been to a school reunion knows there is a certain amount of anxiety associated with attending a reunion.   As the reunion approaches your mind becomes flooded with thoughts.:
Will there be anyone there I know?  What if my first love (crush) is there?  What if nobody remembers me?
I've put on weight, I've gone grey, I've lost my hair. So What.!!

Relax! you are not alone in  these thoughts.  Everyone else is having the same exact thoughts as you.  Don't let these thoughts get in the way of attending your school reunion.

Bottomline is we have all changed.  So what! You're not 12 anymore.   The laws of gravity and time catch up with all of us eventually.  changes are an inevitable fact of life.  Accept yourself for who you are.  Be yourself. Celebrate life's changes.. Relax and go and have a good time.  Letting such negative thoughts impact on your decision to attend may result in you missing out on a wonderful time.

Focus your thoughts instead on the positive aspects of attending. This is an opportunity to renew old friendships, catch up with each other's lives, to celebrate your youth and feel young again (if only for a moment), to reminisce about the "Good Old Days". To share time with old friends while we are still able to, to celebrate our changes.  You will quickly find people are not there to judge you, but are there for the same reasons you are to have a great time and touch their past. It can be a  rejuvenating experience.

When it is all over we can take comfort in the fact that we have all changed, we've all gone  down different paths in life but that we all still share a common bond and enjoy a good party.

Here are some tips to help you relax at our school reunion.:

-Go with an attitude of having fun.
-Be yourself and be proud of who you are.
-Dress comfortably.
-Remember everyone will have changed.  You're not alone.
-Hookup with a few close classmates before hand and go to reunion together.
-It's perfectly ok to not remember somebody.  Our memories all fade.  That's why name tags were invented!.


Extracted from a document on Reunion Jitters.