From littlies to leaders
News
As Nazareth’s newly elected 2025 Year 12 student leaders Matthew Beer and Anthony Vella face the year ahead, they draw inspiration from their formative years in the school community.
Both students were among the first group of toddlers enrolled at Nazareth Early Childhood Centre when it opened in 2009. Anthony also attended playgroup.
Nazareth has 233 students going into Year 12 this year at the Kidman Park campus.
The Early Childhood Centre is licensed for 100 children a day, with 186 children currently attending across the week. Twenty seven of these children are babies located in the baby room where Matthew started.
Moving into leadership roles 16 years later is a full-circle moment for Matthew and Anthony.
“I remember bits and pieces of those early days vividly,” Matthew said.
Matthew Beer (left) and Anthony Vella as toddlers at Nazareth Early Childhood Centre.
“As a child I wanted to be an astronaut, a fireman, a police officer. I’m not so sure now.”
When he’s not playing school football, basketball and working as a boundary umpire for the SANFL Reserves, 2025 college captain Matthew will study English, General Maths, PE, Religion and complete an AIF (Activating Identities and Futures) research project. His fellow college captain is Georgia Parker.
“I think I’ve tried everything that Nazareth has to offer, like sport, music and leadership positions,’ Matthew said.
“I’ve definitely got a lot on my plate but I’m just making sure I’m prepared and I’m starting some of my research for projects now, so I’m not hit like a tonne of bricks when I start again.”
As one of the school’s 2025 house captains, Anthony believes communication is the key to juggling multiple responsibilities.
“Hearing everyone out and listening to their ideas will be one of the biggest and best ways to come together as a team and work on how we can improve,” he said.
“I’m a very organised person, which is how I like to keep on top of things. I like to tick off things like assignments and meetings as I go. That didn’t happen overnight though. I’ve been working on that over the last year or so.”
As a child, Anthony wanted to be a pilot and while he still aspires to get his pilot’s licence, he now wants to pursue a love of biology and chemistry through the medical industry or chemical engineering.
Remembering those who helped him along the way is part of his motivation.
“Walking back into the playgroup building was a weird feeling, like déjà vu, but they’re all good memories,” he said.
“Nazareth has guided me the whole way through. My teachers have been awesome and helped me out whenever I asked for help. I feel like some of them go above and beyond, which is sometimes what you need in school; just a little extra push to get you over the line and help reach your goals.”
Early childhood educator Abhilasha Vasisht also cherishes the sense of community.
“I have been working in the centre from the beginning in 2009,” she said.
“I love seeing children learn and grow and building strong bonds. Nazareth creates an atmosphere where children, parents and family feel a part of the village. It also brings people from different backgrounds together to form a harmonious community. Its core values of love, respect and care unite family and staff to thrive around its mission.”
