Message from Assistant Principal Senior School

The secondary school journey of the class of 2020 genuinely began way back in 2015 as young fresh faced bundles of expectation and trepidation.

Over the following years we nurtured them in collaboration and in partnership with parents and guardians and families, towards their young adult transformation.

For me, as Assistant Principal of the Senior School, that transformation had its beginnings when this fine group of people entered Year 10, and my role, along with my teams of year level leaders and coordinators along the way, was to ensure that transformation would lead them to become independent minded, highly organized and steadfastly committed to their studies and their individual goals of success at whatever they put their minds to. For me it was vitally important that they eventually developed and exhibited qualities of leadership, compassion and an emerging adult maturity and appreciation of their school, our school.

As this picture of them at their Year 10 Formal shows, they also began their senior school years with a sense of fun, definitely STYLE, and a close bond with each other already established. This bond would hold them in good stead for what was to follow and for what could not be anticipated way back then. 

In my mind this was realized during the tumultuous year of lockdown and remote learning. If I was to say what stuck in mind about this time, it would be the way the class of 2020 returned to on-site learning on two occasions. Each time, they took the situation into their stride, supported each other by virtue of the bond they had previously developed, and stepped into the demands and rigors of their particular course of study or training with such courage and good old fashioned, ‘let’s get on with it’ commitment. I know it’s what kept me going.

I must say with genuine pride how wonderfully they realized those early expectations from myself and Mrs Stanton and when the Class of 2020 finally ‘marched-out’, albeit in a different way to previous years, but no less spectacular, and as they accepted the acknowledgement of the ‘whole school’ guard of honor along the oval, it seemed like they had become the strong, confident and aspirational group of young people we thought they would be…ready to keep on marching right into their bright futures.

The school motto, audacta astra capesse (Dare to Dream) guided them all along the way and with the skills and knowledge gained during their senior years, they seemed to show during their final year level assembly, how they truly embraced those words which seemed to take on a more powerful meaning and purpose. An incredible moment.

I’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our hard working and talented college captains, Clare Hendy, Mitch Tepaske, Jazz Dermody and Warren Rogan. I have enjoyed working with them so much as well as watching them gain so much confidence in their role. The number of times when they simply got on with the job or task with little fuss and

Their ability to adapt to running the student leadership program remotely was truly inspiring. They effectively organised meetings, and ensured students had a voice and activities were organized by year level captains as a way of supporting their fellow students.

To the 2020 Dreamcatchers, I’d like to say how their resilience and unflinching commitment to achieving high level grades did not diminish during remote learning, and infact  it possibly enhanced their already high level academic capabilities. 

I would like to sincerely wish them well and hope they keep in touch so we can learn what the Year 12,  2020 Alumni achieves in life.

Jim Papas – Assistant Principal / Senior School