A Final Letter to our Year 12s

Tim Argall - Executive Principal

Dear members of the Class of 2020,

Every year, the leaving class remind the students and their families that theirs has been a year unlike any other.  At one level, they are right.  All of us are image bearers of God, in our own unique ways.  Each Year 12 cohort is a unique blend of individuals, experiencing life together in a different combination of events, social and societal dynamics.

HAH! What did they know!?! You, our departing Year 12s, can genuinely lay claim to that kind of year. Thankfully, global pandemics don’t come around all that often.  Once in a hundred years is enough for any of us, to be frank. 

I have loved your grace, I have loved your poise, I have loved your honesty.  You have been generous, you have been kind, you have maintained a humility.  We have seen you care for each other, we have seen you continue to turn up, we have noticed a sense of relief and quiet calm as your SACS have drawn to a close.

There are so many things we can thank you for.  Who you are, what you’ve done, what you’ve meant to others, how you’ve led, how you’ve dealt with mistakes, disappointments, joy – I thank you, and I thank God for what he’s been teaching you, and us through you.

I give a big shout out to your teachers, and your parents.  Like us all, they have wanted to scream and shout at the world at many times this year.  Maybe they have, with you, or by themselves.  But, in the end, they have been a part of your Year 12 experience, for which I am deeply grateful.  If we’ve made a difference, we are thankful.  Know that in our hearts you have been a deep, deep concern for all of us, and will continue to be so.

Lessons are pretty much done, study is well advanced, SACS and assessment tasks are locked in; now it’s the exams.  And then, life opens up – to … well in each case, God has a plan – revealed or not, a little or a lot, he’s got you.

Have we stayed in the ‘main game’?  I hope so. If we haven’t, I ask your forgiveness. All we want is for you to be in the ‘main game’.  Have we given you glimpses of Jesus, clear views of Jesus, panoramas of Jesus?  Have those pictures, images, narratives been hazy, clear, sharply focused, maybe a combination of all?  Did we explain what it was for God to be incarnate – in human form – as a plan for each one of us? 

I hope so; I trust that its truth will impact your lives always.  If God has used us well, I’m thankful.  If we’ve fallen short, I know he can use it. Where we are flawed, God is not. His complete trustworthiness endures forever. Whether you know it, or not; in full view, or in seclusion; God has got you, and his love – as seen in Jesus, his life, death, resurrection and return – these are the ‘main game’.

Love each other.  Love the ones you love. Love God.  Love Jesus.  These are our prayers for you. 

 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Shalom.