Our Year 8s don’t stop learning when the final bell rings. This week, we’re celebrating two students whose dedication outside the classroom is just as impressive as their work inside it.
Lilly
At 13 years of age, GCC Year 8 student Lilly was one of the youngest models to grace the runway at the Australian Wearable Art Festival this year. An emerging model, this was the biggest show Lilly has participated in so far with four shows over two days on August 8 and 9. Lilly was paired with Ipswich designer Stephanie Vale, who created the piece she called Gather Community using just two materials – dog hair from her husky and a friend’s poodle and long grass. Stephanie worked for eight months to weave the hair into a yarn-like thread that she double-crocheted to create a top and poncho. She was able to then felt the thread to make the mushrooms. The long grass was also crocheted to make the overalls. The combination of Stephanie’s wearable artwork and Lilly’s captivating performance of a post-apocalyptic gatherer saw the design awarded Winner of the Textile & Fibre Award and Runner up in the Elements of Nature category. Lilly says the experience was one she will never forget.
“The people were so friendly and made my nerves disappear almost instantly,” she says. “It was so funny having to be a serious character, but then people meet me and I’m not serious at all.”
It’s only a matter of time before Stephanie and Lilly collaborate on another project, with photoshoots coming up later this year and potentially another wearable art entry in 2026.
Kaide
Kaide jumped on a dirt bike at age 4, raced for the first time at 7, and hasn’t looked back. Now competing on 85cc and 125cc bikes, he’s taken on the PRO MX Nationals against some of Australia’s fastest juniors and finished 15th overall in the Sunshine State Series this year.
Next up: the Australian Junior Motocross Championship in Gillman, SA, this September.
“The best part is the adrenaline,” Kaide says. “When you’re on the gates, your heart rate is through the roof. On the track, you forget all your problems-it’s just you and the bike.”
Racing at national level demands fitness, focus and a cool head; Kaide’s building all three, one lap at a time.
Helen Douglas, Year 8 Coordinator