We were very fortunate to have His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia visit AIS thai week to officially open the New Jakarta Campus which we moved into during 2021. He was joined by his wife, H.E. Mrs Hurley; H.E. Penny Williams PSM, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia; H.E. Dr. Siswo Pramono, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and numerous other Vice-Regal and Ambassadorial guests
The Governor General spoke about the importance of education and the long standing and close relationships between Australia and Indonesia before inviting everyone to join him in launching the school and then signing our official plaque. After the assembly, the Governor General and Mrs Hurley joined everyone for photos before moving to the Early Years to read a story and sing with our Preschool, Foundation and Year 1 students. After that they, along with other guests, joined a group of students and teachers for a morning tea outside the canteen. They finished their visit with an exchange of gifts and final photos before moving to their next engagement. The plaque we received from the Governor General and the AIS Official Opening Plaque will both be displayed in the foyer for the next couple of weeks before being permanently mounted.
The feedback we have had has been extremely positive with many students, teachers and parents commenting on how moved they were by the day’s events. Other highlights for many of the students were seeing the numerous soldiers with guns, the presidential security personnel and the armoured personnel carrier.
A big thank you to Dr Beth, our Board, HR Team, Admissions & Marketing Team, Maintenance & Facilities Team, and Security Team for the tremendous amount of work they put into preparing the school so it was at its absolute best. Thanks also to Mr Kessell and Miss Katrina for leading the beginning of our assembly and to Mackenzie and Charlotte for MC-ing our main assembly.
Another big thank you to Ms Milisa McDowall, Counsellor and Consul and Mr Tom Pearce, Minister-Counsellor and Consul-General for being our event organisers and liaison with the Australian Embassy and Government House in Australia.