To all the Staff & Students of BCS
My thoughts have been with you all this week & like all of you I am still trying to make sense of everything. Short distances have seemed far greater although things that may have irritated or aggravated have been pushed aside as completely trivial when you remember that we have lost a truly wonderful young man this week. Matt was someone whose kindness, humour and generosity knew no bounds & the world has truly been robbed of someone who would have only done good & done it with great style with no thoughts towards personal gain. There may be anger, disbelief and heartache & although it is no consolation at all, at least we all loved Matt enough to be hurting this much. Please take good care of each other.
Dear Matt.
I know without any form of doubt that I am a better person for having known you, as is everyone who had the honour. Yours is a legacy of good humour, generous spirit, understanding & unwavering friendship. You were a true gentlemen who shall be greatly missed. You made me feel so welcome when I began teaching at BCS & your humour & randomness (which also knew NO BOUNDS!) I found very similar to my own. I remember being shocked when you got a haircut because up until then I didn’t know you actually had a forehead or TWO eyes under there! Laura said you used a hair-straightener…. I like to think it was all you buddy!
I always felt safe in the knowledge that you would make sure everyone would tell Miss Owen that we had done HEAPS of work in our Thursday drama lessons… when the reality was that we often used it to refine our immense comedic skills & make height jokes about Laura. She couldn’t hit a teacher, so I’m afraid you & Luke had to cop the brunt of her fury… which never came up short!
I know without any form of doubt that I am a better person for having known you, as is everyone who had the honour. Yours is a legacy of good humour, generous spirit, understanding & unwavering friendship. You were a true gentlemen who shall be greatly missed. You made me feel so welcome when I began teaching at BCS & your humour & randomness (which also knew NO BOUNDS!) I found very similar to my own. I remember being shocked when you got a haircut because up until then I didn’t know you actually had a forehead or TWO eyes under there! Laura said you used a hair-straightener…. I like to think it was all you buddy!
I always felt safe in the knowledge that you would make sure everyone would tell Miss Owen that we had done HEAPS of work in our Thursday drama lessons… when the reality was that we often used it to refine our immense comedic skills & make height jokes about Laura. She couldn’t hit a teacher, so I’m afraid you & Luke had to cop the brunt of her fury… which never came up short!
Your enthusiastic support of my Movember Moustache was thoroughly appreciated & many good times were spent practicing our outrrrrrrageous French accents. It was this kind of enthusiasm that led to Laura’s response yesterday when I told her that I sadly could not be here today: “That sucks so much. Tell your school to shove it anyway cos he would want the dirty Frenchman here!”.
This has been a strange week. In the midst of immense sadness I have been offered some amazing opportunities for 2012 & beyond & I could not help but feel guilty for having such great plans in the pipeline, knowing that you too had great plans that now will sadly never be. Another thought struck me though. For those of us that are left, we remain to make you proud of all that we do. We owe it to you to be our best, to strive for more than we believe we are capable of and help others to do the same. Your absence must be filled not with eternal grief or guilt, but with passion, inspiration and love in the hope that when we meet again one day you’ll greet us with that trademark smile, put your arm around our shoulder & say “You did good!”.
This has been a strange week. In the midst of immense sadness I have been offered some amazing opportunities for 2012 & beyond & I could not help but feel guilty for having such great plans in the pipeline, knowing that you too had great plans that now will sadly never be. Another thought struck me though. For those of us that are left, we remain to make you proud of all that we do. We owe it to you to be our best, to strive for more than we believe we are capable of and help others to do the same. Your absence must be filled not with eternal grief or guilt, but with passion, inspiration and love in the hope that when we meet again one day you’ll greet us with that trademark smile, put your arm around our shoulder & say “You did good!”.
With love, respect & limitless admiration,
Mr T
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