Lauren set to

By Melissa Meehan
She will follow in the footsteps of Australian troops along the Kokoda Track, in June next year.
The Kooweerup Secondary College student won a competition run by the Cardinia Shire Council and the 39th Battalion Association to travel to Papua New Guinea for 14 days, including nine days trekking the Kokoda Track.
She wrote an essay about the trials and tribulations of soldiers who walked the track during World War II.
The final four was rounded down to two students, and Lauren and a student from Beaconhills will make the trip of a lifetime.
“I really think it will be a great experience for me,” Lauren told the Gazette.
“Something to remember.”
Lauren first learnt about the competition through a teacher at school and worked with teachers to perfect her submission.
But before she makes the trek she needs to start training for the 96-kilometre experience.
“We will have to start working on fitness and strength,” she said.
“It’s going to be pretty tough.” Communication technology co-ordinator Margaret Nicholson said the school was delighted with Lauren’s success.
Lauren’s visit to the Kokoda Track is not the school’s only link to the 39th Battalion.
The school band is the official band for the 39th Battalion and leads the group each Anzac Day at the city march.
Director of Music at the school Claudia Barker said the relationship between the school and the 39th Battalion was important and that history students had been lucky enough to have visits from battalion members who told of their tales of the Track.