Director of Students
Speech given to year 12 students marking the end of their secondary schooling
Good evening respected Principal, Assistant Principals, colleagues, families and friends, students and our dear outgoing Year 12 class of 2019.
I am pleased and honoured to deliver this farewell speech. Today is a day of joy and optimism. We are here to bid farewell to our students who are leaving the college after their successful completion of Year 12.
To our dear Year 12 students - despite some difficult classes, a little sadness and many happy moments, in the end you completed this journey with stoicism and wonderful memories. We were tough with you at times, not because we did not respect you but to prepare you for the challenges ahead.
We nurtured you and enabled you to prepare a strong foundation for the coming years. With our guidance today you have reached this milestone with honour and integrity.
I, and all the teachers here tonight, thank you for your efforts over the past six years. You have demonstrated resilience, perseverance and grit. The relationships you have forged with teachers, the junior students and with each other has been beautiful to watch.
Indeed, you have shown us that you come from caring families and you are leaving behind a legacy for those who follow.
As you leave this college expect some challenges, but I am confident you have the skills and resilience to overcome them.
On behalf of the college, I bid you farewell and wish you best of luck in your days ahead.
We all wish you love, happiness and most of all, good fortune.
The Elephant Rope - a story about belief
A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp and noticed the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by chains.
All that was preventing them from escaping was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs.
As the man gazed upon the elephants he was confused as to why they didn’t use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They could easily have done so but instead, didn’t try.
Curious, and wanting to know the answer, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants were standing there but had never tried to escape.
The trainer replied: ‘when they were young and small, we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it was enough to hold them. As they grew, they were conditioned to believe they could not break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.’
The reason the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping camp was that over time they had adopted the belief it just wasn’t possible.
Moral of the story:
No matter how much the world tries to hold you back, always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible. Believing you can become successful is the most important step in achieving it.
https://wealthygorilla.com/10-most-inspirational-short-stories
Ms Kalouda Peliditis
