Valedictory 2022

Year 12 Graduation 

Last week we had the privilege of celebrating our graduating class of 2022 at their Valedictory.  

It was a fabulous night at a new and stylish venue, The San Remo Ballroom in Carlton. It was a special opportunity to reflect on the past six years and pay tribute to the importance of teachers, students and parents working in partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for our young people, for when they leave school.   Students received their Year 12 Certificates with Academic Achievement and Special Awards also being issued.

Undoubtedly a highlight of the night was the student/parent dance which opened the dance floor – we were overwhelmed with how many families took the opportunity to take part in the dance and we are looking forward to including this as a regular feature every year! 

As always, our Class of 2022 showed the integrity, class and maturity they have exhibited all year and we wish them the very best in their future pathways. 

A special thank you to the Senior Team for all their work in making the Valedictory such a success.

Photos will be available in coming days. Please keep an eye out for more information on Compass.

College Captain Valedictory Speeches

Ulysses Rigano

Six years ago, the majority of the Year 12 in this room today arrived for Year 7 orientation and joined the sea of multicoloured jumpers after hurriedly kissing and hugging their parents goodbye. This is a particularly memorable day for two reasons, we met the class we'd be spending the next year with and made new friends. However, myself and a couple of others spent our first day looking for a playground.

Getting used to this new highschool life wasn't easy. Not just the classes and area but the social aspect too. Like when we'd play in our little Year 7 groups until someone worked up enough courage to speak to a big kid and join in with them. Or shying away from anyone with a fancy Year 12 jacket. And don't even mention F-Block. It's like the Forbidden Forest (for any of you Harry Potter fans), a dangerous place full of Year 12 and easy to get lost in.

One of the highlights of Year 7 were the class competitions. Regardless of if we won, it was these types of activities that really cemented our relationships with our teachers. For example, teachers would beg and beg us to enter the spelling bee and we would beg and beg them all to play dodgeball instead. It's a win-win. Side note, I apologise for using some of you as human Shields. 

Emma Cameron

Year 8 and 9; The ratty years.  A time of bad hair decisions and paying only $1 for the Ice Twists at the orchard (inflation is real you guys); where our biggest fears were the things people were saying about us on Snap YOLO's.

The era where 2xu's were a thing and all we did in class was play Hill Cclimb Racing when Miss Ford fell asleep on City Experience that one time during the homeless presentation - a flavourful few years!

Hey, while I know I look back on this time and am physically repulsed by some of the things we used to say and do, the reality is Year 8 and 9 signaled the begging of some serious character development and was the first time we kinda got the feel for subjects we liked and areas we potentially wanted to pursue after school. 

These years were the final years of us enjoying school without the pressure of being told to take studying more seriously; back when homework looked like doing a couple of cheeky Mathspace questions, not cramming many months worth of chapter questions in one sitting the night before it's due.  

But as great as the lack of pressure was it definitely did not prepare us for the chaos that would be the next 3 years.

Emma Lawler

I know everyone’s heard it a million times but, 2020 and 2021 were some hectic years. In Years 7 to 9 I think we all dreamt of missing a year of school and getting to sleep in every day, but the novelty of it all wore off pretty quickly. 

We went from complete lockdowns to leaving school everyday wondering if tomorrow we’d be working from home. And let’s face it, online classes weren’t as productive as they could’ve been. From the students' end we had pixilated images of teachers whose WIFI would drop out if it rained. There was also the occasional whiteboard used by teachers who couldn’t quite work out how to share their screen which were quite the challenge to read. 

And from the teacher’s perspective there was nothing but a bunch of teams icons and the occasional thumbs up emoji, only getting a real response when they accidentally mute their mic. I think for all of us, the morning activities might be one of the the most defining parts of whole lockdown, especially getting to watch Mr Murphy dance during the trivia’s, and the occasional yoga lesson to start the day. With all this said, I think every student here is still grateful for the effort put in by the teachers to keep classes engaging, and the fact that so many of us made it here tonight without losing motivation is really incredible. 

Bailey Lubin

Well, it’s been a crazy six years, this one probably the craziest of them all. It may seem like only yesterday but a whole 10 months ago we arrived at school for our last first day. We may not have realised it at that moment but the year to come was filled with so many great moments. 

From the dress up days, the stress of exams, finding our paths for next year and beyond, and when the birds started attacking the drone on the last day, it was an unforgettable year. 

The few minutes we have spent talking have barely scratched the surface on our last 6 years of school.  Within these years, so many memories have been made. Thank you all for being the best cohort anyone could’ve hoped for, and making Year 12 a blast! 

Carrie Wallis

Assistant Principal