Cancer awareness: Geraldton students and teachers take shave for Willow Pusey

Mount Tarcoola Primary School was buzzing last week as students gathered to see their friends and teachers clipped for the World’s Greatest Shave. Seven students and six teachers lost their hair to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation after student Willow Pusey, 11, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the start of this year. At several moments the students broke out into chants of “Willow ... Willow ... Willow” as their schoolmate watched via FaceTime and a projector. Principal Paul Luxton said every male teacher, including himself, had volunteered to shave their heads to support Willow and her family while raising awareness of blood cancer. The school raised $4700 from the shave to go to the charity. Mr Luxton closed the event by thanking the community volunteers and said everyone who cut their hair was brave, but not as brave as Willow as she fought the illness in Perth. “Hopefully we injected some laughs into your day Willow — we hope to see you back soon,” he said. Willow’s father Russell said when she learned she had to stay in Perth for treatment, the biggest thing she was concerned about was missing everything at school. “Paul has been fantastic ... not many schools would go to the lengths they have to support Willow,” he said.