Bunbury SHS Graduates Society - Alumni

BUNBURY SHS GRADUATES SOCIETY (ALUMNI)

Greetings from the Interim BSHS Graduates Society (Alumni) Association.

In 2021, with the guidance of the BSHS Principal, a small team of BSHS Graduates have been working to create a Graduates Society. This is an ambitious development to connect the wisdom and experience of former graduates and staff with opportunities for current students and staff, assisting graduates to stay connected with their high school and former friends, and also encourage the development of the school’s heritage and history with the creation of the Kingia Foundation. 

The initial and most important project for the Interim Alumni Council was the creation of an effective constitution. This has been lodged with state government and registration is imminent. The next steps will be to establish governance arrangements, including holding the inaugural Council elections, establishing bank accounts and seeking sources of revenue that will help deliver the activities the Alumni work on together.

However, the most important part of any Graduates Society is the graduates. You.

Sarah Henderson (1985) is heading up a small Alumni project team to deliver an event called ‘The 1000 People Project (1000PP)’. This musical collaboration between current students and graduates will officially launch the Alumni and will be held in November 2021. Apart from having a good time, we will be encouraging graduates to join the BSHS Graduates Society (which by the way you can do right now by letting us know your details. Follow this link to the Graduates Society website).

Finally, if you are interested in joining the Alumni Council, please contact Mike Sinagra, Principal of Bunbury SHS via email: michael.sinagra2@education.wa.edu.au. Your support and participation in developing the Graduates are welcome, needed, and important in giving back to a school that gave so much to its graduates and former staff.

Yours sincerely

Interim Alumni Council

James Jarvis (1985)

Sarah Henderson (1985)

Sam Goodlad (1994)

Kristy Narkle (1996)

Peter Martinson (1961)

Wayne Hayres (1981)

HIGHLIGHTING OUR ALUMNI

Peter Martinson – Class of 1971

Peter first started at Bunbury Senior High School in 1967. During his time at school, Peter joined the Bunbury SHS cadets and made his way up to Cadet Under Officer (CUO) – a student in charge of all the other student cadets. They even used to travel to the local rifle range where students would learn how to shoot. He remembers one afternoon they went to the range and someone accidentally shot his bike tyres while practising. Peter also recalls the time the cadets would launch mortars from the school oval with one mortar shooting off target and crashing into the caretakers shed (where he would park his car!).

Peter also enjoyed playing golf for sports lessons on a Friday afternoon at the old Koombana Reef Golf Course (now the Bunbury Foreshore Caravan Park). Peter was also a prefect in his senior years at Bunbury SHS. See if you can spot him in the photos hanging on our wall in reception!

After graduating in 1971, Peter started working as a teacher at Mt Tom Price, then Geraldton, and Sandstone where he was a Principal. The school had only around five to six students – almost one in each year group! Peter relished teaching science and computing and still volunteers at CoderDojo and does occasional IT relief.

He then worked at Pegs Creek, and Carnarvon before moving back to Bunbury and starting as a Deputy at Eaton Primary School. After working at Eaton PS for 27 years he then retired in January 2016. Peter couldn't stay away from schools and after just one month of retirement, he was back teaching instrumental music and doing relief teaching where he could.

In his spare time, Peter stays active playing golf and is currently the captain at Bunbury Golf Club. He is also a talented musician, starting out his musical endeavours in a band at Bunbury SHS playing the clarinet, sax, trumpet, trombone and many others.

Currently, Peter has been assisting us with our most recent round of NAPLAN as a test administrator and has assisted with establishing the Bunbury Graduates Society for our Alumni, which is soon to be launched!