Students draw to remember

Hundreds of school children across the Moreton Bay region will Draw to Remember on Tuesday as a tribute to Remembrance Day.

Now in its fourth year, the initiative uses artistic imagination to create drawings of learnings or personal stories about the importance of November 11.

This year, veterans and members from 53 Queensland RSL Sub-Branches will visit 21,660 students at 214 schools to talk about Remembrance Day.

Moreton Bay participants are Beachmere State School, Birali Steiner School Beachmere, Bounty Boulevard State School, Dayboro State School, Eaton Hills State School, Kurwongbah State School, Lawnton State School, Mt Samson State School, Pine Rivers Special School and St Paul’s School Bald Hills.

Students will put chalk to concrete illustrating the sacrifice of those who have served in the Australian Defence Force since World War I.

RSL Queensland’s Draw to Remember started with 3500 students in 2022 but has grown to six times that number today.

“Draw to Remember is all about engaging with the next generation so they understand the importance of a day observed by millions across Australia and around the world,” RSL Queensland State President Major General Stephen Day DSC AM said.

“Four years on, it’s fantastic to see how the program continues to engage more and more students each year, and their creative renderings of what remembrance means to them.”

Draw to Remember veteran and Townsville RSL Sub-Branch Secretary Pauline McGuire said her Sub-Branch had never missed a year.

“In the first year, we were working with six schools, but this year, we're working with 17!” Ms McGuire said.

“It’s been a great way to engage with the local schools and has really strengthened our relationships with them.”

Kilcoy RSL Sub-Branch President John Robinson shared a similar sentiment and added how delightful it was to see the younger generation so engaged in commemoration.

"It’s wonderful to see local students become so engaged in their drawings and explain what remembrance is in their own words – it’s been deeply rewarding to see that desire to be involved increase each year.” he said.