Principal’s Speech- Year 9 Leavers Assembly

It is with great pride and a touch of sadness that I stand before you to bid farewell to our Year 9 students. This year has been special in so many ways but for me it has been all the more memorable because of you. You have already given us an insight into the resilient, incredible people you are going to grow into. This is for several reasons.

Firstly you have completed all your middle school years during a pandemic. You have ‘weathered the storm’ as they say - going from primary into secondary school during a difficult time and yet you have done this always looking forward to the positive be it sport, music, academic challenges, you have always made the most of the opportunities given to you rather than dwell on those events you were unable to do because of the world wide situation.

Secondly, you started your secondary life at a very different school, and yet in Year 8 you had to continue your journey at a new campus, new school with many new teachers. Again you took it in your stride and were fantastic. You were a little bit like a middle child. The year 9s were the focus as they were the first SOIS cohort into SCIE and the Year 7s were the babies that needed to be supported. That did not stop you from embracing your Typhooness!! You grabbed every opportunity given to you and showed that you were going to be great leaders the year after.

Finally as Year 9s you have been enthusiastic, energetic and ready to meet the challenges given to you. And what challenges they were. With so many events cancelled, on line learning, sport competitions unable to take place. Perhaps the biggest regret was the Chinese New Year performance cancelled. Thank goodness through your commitment and dedication you ensured that we were finally able to enjoy the fruits of your labour with a fabulous performance. Thank you and what a wonderful way of saying farewell by leaving such a lasting impression. In fact well done to you all for making a difficult year a wonderful one.

On a personal note I had the privilege of teaching every one of you. While during most of the year you were hidden behind masks, I felt your best work was when you put on your second masks! Over this semester you have grasped our last unit of Commedia Del Arte and run with it, creating the most wonderful characters. You all genuinely made Ms Helen and me smile. You showed that you can do anything and to not be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. You showed you are not afraid to take risks and challenge yourself to become someone so unique and unusual that we do not recognise you at all!

So, this now brings us to your future. You are all ready for that next step. What is your future? What goals, what ambitions do you have? At this point I would like to quote Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who says…..

“Don’t be afraid to be ambitious about your goals. Hard work never stops. Neither should your dreams.”

For many of you, your goals are clear, you have a pathway you want to follow, but the one question I have for you is …is it a goal without ambition?

Yes, it is great to dream big, have those goals you want to reach, but they will only be achieved with hard work! If your goals are easy to attain are they truly your dreams? Are they ambitious enough for you? It is the hard work you put in that makes them truly worth it.

Dream big, be ambitious about the goals you want in life, but be prepared to put in the hours, the sacrifice and the plain old hard work to get there. No one can do it for you. It is now up to you!

One of the most important words in our Vision is ‘Inspire’! This word relates directly to what The Rock is saying. We can ‘Educate’ you in all areas, we can ‘Nurture’ you to fulfill your potential, but it is up to you to be ‘Inspired’ to do it… to reach for that ‘Excellence’. If you are not inspired to reach your goals yourself, are they truly your dreams or are they dreams put on you by others?

If you are prepared to put the hard work in yourself your ambitions will be within your reach, your goals achieved and your dreams realized. But also remember that as you grow and experience more of the world, it might be that your dreams change and your goals shift. When this happens and it probably will, it is up to you to recognize this shift and either embrace it or remain with what you know.

The future is up to you. It is an unwritten story, a blank page if you will, it is up to you as to what the story will be, what will be written and how the chapters play out. One thing will remain the same, hard work will help you achieve your dreams.

To all our wonderful Year 9s, the future is yours to take, please make the most of it, take the opportunities given to you and work your socks off to get there!! It has been a pleasure to be a small part of you exciting lives and I wish you all the very best for the future. Have fun, enjoy the ride and work hard!!

Helen Swan

Principal