Community & Business
19 November, 2024
Jondaryan student remembered
Former Jondaryan State School student Andrew Hart’s classmates, family and friends travelled to the town last week (Friday 8th November) to celebrate his life at the official installation of a flagpole plaque.
Born with a disability, Andrew was a vibrant member of the community at Jondaryan State School and beyond until his death.
Andrew managed the school’s sports teams, and was passionate about his duty of raising the flagpole.
A plethora of speakers stepped forward to recount their memories of Andrew, with a common theme being his positivity, enthusiasm and honesty.
Andrew’s father Cameron Hart thanked Andrew’s ex-classmates for driving the memorial, and the school for hosting the event.
“If Andrew was here, he’d be pretty chuffed,” he said.
“A big thanks to Mel who started all this.”
Melody Labinsky (nee Pedler) was co-Vice Captain with Andrew at Jondaryan State School in 2003 and helped organise the event, along with several other ex-Jondaryan students,
“Andrew had a powerful impact on his classmates and teachers,” Ms Labinksy said.
“His journey taught all of us about the importance of being inclusive.”
Andrew’s mother, Suzie Hart thanked all those who made an impact on her son’s life, including his teacher aides at Jondaryan, most notably Julie Voll, his classmates at school, and speech pathologist Ritamay Roberts from Toowoomba, who taught Andrew how to speak.
