Student Leaders Update

Year 12 Captains' Speech, Year 12 Final Assembly 

Good morning to you all, I am Spencer Ioelu your School Captain for 2022 and standing with me today is Suchara, our School Vice-Captain and Anna, our SRC President. 

I welcome all staff, parents, teachers, families and friends, students, and graduates to the official Year 12 final assembly for 2022. 

Firstly, thank you to all who have come today as we Year 12’s say farewell to our schooling years, and embark on our future endeavours. 

What a year it has been! Spectacular and exhilarating is an understatement as to how this year has been at Dandenong High School, being the first year back with no disruptions since 2019. It takes a truly resilient individual to get through these past rough years, yet here we all are today. So again, thank you for coming.

To the younger year levels at our school, oh how many of us would like to be in your shoes once again. You may not know yet, but all of you young and brilliant minded people are truly fortunate to not only be a part of this school, but a part of this community and environment also. You may have heard this endless number of times, but it really is true: make the most of the time you have here because time really does fly by when you’re having fun. 

These remaining 3, 4, or 5 years until you reach Year 12 goes by a lot quicker than you think. Trust me, I thought the same. Which is why I encourage you all to do one thing, and that’s to make the most of your time here. Enjoy the company of your friends, teachers, the opportunities you will be given, because you may never be able to enjoy them once you have all reached the graduation milestone. But one thing is for certain, don’t take your schooling years for granted, for they will provide you with many of the best years of your life.

To our fellow Year 12s, we made it! From juniors all the way to here today, we can officially say we have done it. We have come so far in this long journey, and we should all be so proud of ourselves. Each one of us graduates sitting here today are about to embark on our futures, which I have no doubt will be filled with success and joy. We will no longer be getting up early in the morning saying, “mum and dad, I don’t feel like going to school today”, but instead we will wake up saying “I really wish I could go to school today”. 

We will no longer be able to tell our friends what answers we wrote on the Maths or English test, but instead will be talking about how gas prices are ridiculously high and tax rates and all that adult stuff. 

We are no longer children; we are young adults now. And that may be scary to some people, or exciting to others. But all I can say is that whatever you do in your futures, always remember where you came from, your journey, your struggles, your sacrifices, the late nights working on that SAC or CAT that was due the next day. 

Remember that the reason you are here today, is because of the hard work you all put in over the past years. So, for that, congratulations! Congratulations on your hard work, and congratulations on completing your schooling years, and may you have the best of luck on your paths to your dreams. 

Before I finish, I’d like to thank all the staff here today. The teachers, the IT team, the Front office, all the House Office Administrators - we thank you for all you have done for us. 

To the parents and family members here today, your monumental support is deeply appreciated and will not be forgotten. Thank you for the countless school drop offs, pickups, providing us with our lunches, books, uniform and everything we need to learn at school. 

The unconditional love, support and care you have given us is all the reason as to why we are here today. If it weren’t for our families, we would literally not be here today. We truly and deeply thank you all.

Finally, I wish the best of luck to each one of you here today in achieving whatever dreams or future endeavours you seek. Thank you for sharing this special moment with us and good luck.