Sesquicentenary celebrations

In 2016 Wesley College will celebrate its sesquicentenary, a wonderful milestone in the life of any organisation and certainly the most significant event for this generation of Wesley. To plan and prepare for this, a Sesquicentenary Planning Committee, consisting of members of the College Council, current staff and alumni was formed in 2013, with five aims or aspirations:

1. To recognise that 2016 will be a significant and memorable year in the history of Wesley College
2. To organise memorable events for all members of the Wesley College community
3. To raise the profile of Wesley College in the wider community
4. To provide a lasting legacy for future generations
5. To provide opportunities for re-engagement with the College

The committee’s task was to provide a comprehensive and coordinated planning document outlining the plan of events for 2016.

One of the first decisions of the committee was that all sesquicentenary events needed to be based around the normal cycle of the Wesley College calendar, to avoid disruption to our key educational programs.  For example, campus Open Days, Founders’ Day celebrations, Speech Nights, Valedictory Service and Dinners and alumni reunions would all continue as normal, but with special recognition of 2016’s significance in the life of Wesley.

However, there would be a small number of special events associated with the sesquicentenary that would be in addition to our normal activities and events and would dovetail into the normal cycle of school events.

We also recognised that the Wesley community is truly international and therefore events would need to be held not only in Melbourne and Australia, but also in many cities around the world.

The planning process is almost complete and information about the events and activities of our sesquicentenary year will be made available to all members of the Wesley College community over the coming months. An overview of 2016’s events will be published in August Lion, with the complete and detailed program of events to be distributed to all families via December’s Lion magazine. A dedicated page on the College website will soon be live and will contain detailed information about all the programs and events for 2016.

2016 is going to be a wonderful, exciting and affirming year for all of us and we look forward to being part of this very special celebration, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of us, with great anticipation.

Dennis Freeman, Head of Marketing and Communications