Life Lessons with a Lunch Box – Ella Gorringe (2016)

While a group of Year 7 girls ate a lovely provided lunch, Ella Gorringe came in to speak with them about her friendship journey from her time at Santa Maria College and since leaving school.

How do you define a friend? For Ella, it is a person she can rely on, who takes care of her and knows her very well, sometimes better than she knows herself. Friendship for Ella is also about being a nice person and giving to others.

Ella values the friendships that she developed whilst at Santa Maria College. These friendships changed through the years from a large group of friends to a more intimate circle of friends that are still her closest friends today.

Ella gave sage advice to the Year 7 group about not all friendships lasting forever and that it’s okay to be sad when a friendship ends.

The Year 7 cohort had attended a talk on Friendship during Pastoral Care Time and were happy to talk to Ella about some of the things they had learned during this session also.

I am sure Ella’s friendship journey experience to date had an impact on the girls present and they will go out armed with this information to have more confidence in their friendships.

Ella remembers her Dad saying, “You will be able to count your closest friends on one hand”, and I am sure that this sentiment rings true for many of us.