Community
12 December, 2025
Leaving a legacy
DERRINALLUM P-12 College Year Nine and Ten students have left a lasting legacy after their projects were completed recently.
A new mural and memorial garden were installed on the northern side of the school after many weeks of planning and work, with the works all student-led.
The memorial garden was created in memory of previous student Mia Rossiter, who was killed in a car crash in January 2024.
Natasha Henderson said she and her fellow Year Nine and Ten students decided to work on the project after plans were made for a memorial project.
“We had to chip away all the weeds in our selected spot, which took a day,” she said.
“If Mia was here, she would love it.
“We all had a bit put into the design – He Xi came up with the idea, and we all added our own touches.”
Kirra Srdoc said she was proud of the work she and her fellow students put in to create the garden.
“I felt that flowers and butterflies represent Mia, and we chose purple flowers because she loved purple,” she said.
“We picked out flowers, rocks and dug holes for the plants.
“We worked out costs and designed a plaque with her name on it.”
The other new addition to the northern area is a mural, which depicts Mount Elephant and a header harvesting a field against the Australian flag.
Hamish Shore, who worked on the mural alongside Ripley Smith, said the students were inspired by their love of the Australian flag and their community.
“We also added Mount Elephant as it’s part of our community, and we added a header harvesting a field because that’s what we do around here,” he said.
“We also added our hands and names.
“We hope people will like it – it took us a while.
“The hardest part was painting the blue as there were holes in the wall.”
College office administration Sandra Torney said the staff of the school were “very proud” of the students’ work and commitment to their projects.
“The whole staff are super impressed with how they’ve worked on the whole project from start to finish,” she said.
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