While there is talk all around us about finding ways to have graduations and ceremonies to mark Year 12, and while we are doing all that we can not only to do these things in a constrained environment while making sure that we do recognise the very special achievements of the Class of 2020, their individuality and their specialness, there is more to the story of what will always be a storied year.
Much has been written about how the Class of 2020 has missed out, how they have been robbed of the important milestones that line the highway of their final year at school – the culmination of thirteen years of schooling. In some quarters there is still a hankering if not an obsession that some of the Year 12 events should be reconfigured or resurrected in some form or another. They however have moved on.
In fact it really has been a difficult, complex, frightening and disappointing year, one in which we have been overtaken by the unexpected. With bushfires, climate change in its many manifestations, and pestilence, we might even be tempted to imagine ourselves in some apocalyptic present. To do so would be wrong, for there is so much that is positive – there is much light piercing the gloom.
Year 12, 2020 has set an outstanding example, they have really shown us that they are more than ready to take their place as the leaders of tomorrow in an adult world. Their innate positivity, their capacity to soldier on and to move forward resolutely will always stand as an example of the ability of youth to remain optimistic and upbeat in the face of adversity. To be sure there have been moments of doubt and of concern, and yet a real appreciation of togetherness and of a shared predicament have helped to mould a strong sense of identity and of purpose. In spite of the circumstances the determination that they will prevail, that they will overcome and succeed is winning through.
This resolve and eye to the future, means that the milestones have diminished in significance, and have been left along the road because in the greater scheme, they are less important than what lies ahead and the destinations. The promise of Year 12 and their potential and what is in store stand ready to be loosed with all the power that being changed can give (to paraphrase Philip Larkin). They have changed and they have shown us how to grow.
The example that Year 12, 2020 have set for us all is salutary. They have proven themselves more capable than most in adjusting to uncertain circumstances, and they have displayed a capacity to deal with disappointment, to recalibrate and move ahead. The lessons learned from their example and their lasting legacy, one that they will carry in to a future beyond these walls, will be to the benefit of us all. They will long be remembered for their strength, their optimism and their resilience. As role models for their peers they have set a fine example. Their reward will come and they will reap the benefits of the achievements of 2020.
Mr Christopher Daunt Watney
Deputy Principal