Friendship celebrated at Class of 2024 Dux Assembly

Hi everyone, I’m Sarah and I could not be more honoured to be standing here and offering a glimpse into the fabulousness that is the class of 2024.

I’m incredibly humbled to be the one getting to share our story because each and every person of this graduating class is equally deserving of being up here. So I can only promise to try my very best to represent each special chapter of what we shared.

For me, the story began a little less conventionally than the classic ‘walking down the Front Drive’ tale. See, my first taste of Loreto occurred halfway through Year 9 on a Teams call during lockdown. I think I was perhaps a little too enthusiastic because I somehow didn’t clock that it wasn’t going to be normal to turn up with my camera on and dressed in my full winter uniform - but anyways, there I was, and somehow I still made some friends.

Things eventually returned to normal and I was heartened to know that half the grade had followed me on Instagram - the only issue was that I didn’t have Instagram, and the Sarah they followed was not me. Regardless, this minor confusion speaks to the most major quality of our year group: a genuine desire to connect with one another.

Whilst this trait was definitely present when I joined Loreto as a clueless fifteen-year-old - and even when you were all twelve-year-olds, who I hear competed in a very divisive Year Class Christmas battle (I’m told here to mention that Year Class 4 rightly won, though I am a year class 6 supporter), it was only as time went on that our eagerness to be friends became more and more apparent. From our heartfelt renditions of Send Us Out to our growing love for Gertflert (an honorary 2024 graduate), I saw our grade learn how to laugh with one another and, at times, cry with one another.

It is this very spirit of love and friendship that leads me to the next part of my speech. In fact, I wrote it under the subtitle “The whole entire point of the speech”. And the point is this: Year 12 is not to be done alone.

Whilst I can’t deny that we each developed a personal guilty pleasure or coping mechanism - whether it was stockpiled energy drinks in the common room fridge or, in my case, re-reading the literary marvel that is The Selection Series - our Year 12 journey was predominantly a feat of collaboration. The best moments did not come from 80mg of caffeine or Maxon and America’s first kiss, but from early Saturday morning Sports games and late Friday night Debates.

See, Year 12 was characterised by our willingness to work together, and to work hard for what became more than our individual HSCs - what became, a common goal.

This certainly manifested in a grade-wide addiction to Flora - a study tracking app - which I will admit actually did make me study, if not purely for the fact I was not going to let Kaitlyn Lee or Sybilla beat me on the leaderboard. Regardless of rumours that I faked my study hours - which were not true by the way - no friend ever turned their back on me, or anyone else, in a time of need. There was always someone to frantically recite - or might I say shout - random quotes or stats with me before an exam. There was always someone to pick up a late night call or spam me with motivational memes after a rough day. And there were always many, many arms ready to hug me if I needed it.

I love you all so much for this because whilst NESA might present the HSC as a competition, we knew that it would only be won as a team and so we were first, and foremost, always there as friends.

So on this note, to all the students here today, I firstly want you to remember that your friendships are worth the effort. Don’t allow a disagreement or an unkind word said in a moment of stress ruin something wonderful. When a friendship fire crops up, and they will, put it out with good humour, forgiveness and perhaps a bag of Spitroast chips.

I also want you to remember that your family in many ways goes through your schooling journey with you. They watch your late night study and early morning rises, they join in the times of celebration and those of disappointment too, and irrespective of whether you’re on the up or down, they are always there to unconditionally support you. So spend time with them; give them the love they give to you.

And on the academic side, I wholeheartedly believe that the success of our grade is due to our willingness to always help each other out . See, they often say it’s easiest to remember something if you explain it out loud and, whilst I would mutter my essays to basically anything that would listen - which most of the time was unfortunately just my bedroom wall - I think we found that it was much more worthwhile and sane to explain these concepts to real, sentient beings, aka each other. And so, we collectively became each other’s helpdesk. My texting conversations were essentially restricted to sending and receiving questions… and complaining about how much I despised the questions for unjustly forcing me to think.

There were many times I wouldn’t know the answer at first, but I loved procrastinating my own work to figure out a question someone else had sent me. And of course, I’d always preface my response with ‘so sorry for the late reply, just saw your question’, so I could pretend I’d instantaneously solved it. But ultimately, whether we were engaging in this healthy procrastination, or psychoanalysing Ms Tsonis to predict our economics exam questions, we ended up smarter, and stronger, because of our collaboration.

Perhaps we still do not know the perfect formula for time management and we might not yet be convinced that the economy isn’t just a conspiracy, but I dare say that we - at least to some extent - enjoyed the study we were doing because we were always either learning, or confused, together.

So whilst I can’t say year 12 is particularly something I would ever want to repeat, I must also say it’s something I never want to forget, because of the weird and wonderful people I’ve become close to.

Beyond this, I have also come closer to understanding what an experience like this requires of us as individuals. So to the class of 2025, as we reluctantly let go of our time in the Loreto spotlight, I encourage you to hold your friends and family close, but also to bravely embark on the personal parts of this journey.

Throw away the word ‘perfection’. You can’t know absolutely everything - trust me, I tried; but even after all this, I still can’t spell Sayyid Qutb, in my mind a discursive is just yapping, and I really, really don’t understand what a present value table is. But you know what, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Also in the spirit of our graduating value sincerity, please don’t worry about appearing ‘perfect’ either. It’s okay to get a bad fake tan or a bad, possibly self-inflicted, haircut - it happens to the best of us. And it’s also okay to ask silly questions, be half asleep in Period 0, or even cry hysterically over English in the MC bathrooms; though just be careful, because, as me and Amelia learnt the hard way, the noise perfectly carries all the way to the Art Rooms. So although you could never tempt me to use the word ‘perfect’ to describe any sort of exam I’ve ever done, I might use it when talking about Ms Lynch’s eerily cheery “Hi Sistas!” every year class.

My second piece of advice came to me in a reply from Mrs Ellem, to an email I’d titled “I hate Maths”. There was no “Dear Sarah” or “Kind regards”, but what it lacked in email etiquette it made up for with the simple - though almost threatening - reminder “Don’t forget to breathe”. At the time I have to admit I was rather skeptical, my first thought being “as if that’s something I’d ever forget”, before of course, ironically continuing on to breathlessly throw myself back into the hellscape of whatever James Ruse past paper I had been working on. However, over the course of Year 12, I rather begrudgingly came to understand just how important taking a deep breath actually is, both physically and mentally. Physically it’s incredible how much calmer you are when you take a moment to breathe - and let’s be honest we could all do with a touch more calm in our lives. But more importantly, allowing yourself to mentally breathe means letting your mind rest - whether in the form of watching a comfort show, having a cup of tea or even just a cheeky nap… though I recommend choosing your timing carefully, because falling asleep on the train is really embarrassing when there are other passengers watching you forget to get off at Milsons Point Station.

Finally, you need a sparkle of confidence. My friends would consider me somewhat of a professional catastrophiser - but after the world had ended about five times before trials had even started, I finally believed them when they told me that there would be no mystery mark ATAR in my future. Your sparkle of confidence doesn’t have to look like a brave face before every exam - mine certainly wasn’t - it could simply be the act of showing up and starting each one with at least a momentary smile.

See, Year 12 will teach you that the HSC truly is a rollercoaster, with epic highs and lows, but I hope each of you remembers that you are entirely capable of getting to the end with only a scream or two. And, as my debating team decided after an impressive streak of losses, the most fun part - and the best stories - can unexpectedly come from the plummeting moments.

So, before I leave and allow the next chapter of our lives to open, there is a very long list of very large 'thank you's in order - so bear with me. Firstly to my teachers, who put up with me for far longer than I thought was humanly possible. Mrs Cunningham, thank you for teaching me that there can be passion in the struggle of studying - the wound can be the gift. Mrs Ellem, thank you for your unconditional support - J9 was always my second home. Ms Tsonis, thank you for your endless enthusiasm - I don't think anyone else in the world could have made me enjoy interest rates and globalisation so much. Ms Lenehan, thank you for being the chlorine in my NaCl - without you I probably would have exploded. And Ms Heyen, thank you for your unwavering kindness - your faith in me meant everything.

To all my other spectacular teachers over the years, thank you for paving the way for my great Year 12 experience. To the teachers whose classrooms I’ve never had the pleasure of being in, thank you for your generosity - in and out of school hours - I know it has meant the world to my peers. To all of Loreto’s incredible support staff, communications team, coaches, and maintenance team thank you for making our Loreto lives seamless.

To my family - Mum, Dad, I could not have done this without you. Firstly, thank you for feeding me whilst I lived - as you termed it - like a hermit, in my bedroom supposedly studying. But on a more serious note, thank you for your love, your prayers, your thoughts, your understanding and the times you worried more for me than I worried for myself. I am forever indebted for everything you’ve done to make me who I am here today. To my siblings; Mark, Alex and Anne - look, I’m sure my study would have been much more productive had you not been bursting into my room every ten minutes to show me your new iPad wallpaper, gymnastics routines and Year 10 maths homework - but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, you guys kept me sane in a time sanity was rather hard to come by.

Next, to the precious Class of 2024. Thank you for letting nerdy fifteen-year-old me join in all of your fun. Thank you for letting me study with you, sing with you, smile with you; write and laugh and hope and make memories with you. I am infinitely grateful. To the friends who sat with me as we laughed, hugged me when I cried and gave me confidence when I had none - thank you. There is no other group of people I would have wanted to go on this journey with. To our 'sister', Ms Lynch, thank you for always treating us like interesting, worthy people. You are one of few adults who has achieved the status of ‘cool’ in the eyes of 144 teenage girls.

Last but not least, in consideration of how incredibly fortunate I’ve been to have all of this, I thank God; for the opportunities I’ve had, the friends and priceless memories along the way, and the invaluable strength in the times I felt like giving up. Perhaps faith was not a part of everyone’s journey but it was a part of mine that cannot go unacknowledged because it was how I found the motivation, positivity and resilience that allowed all of this to be possible.

So to everyone here today, thank you for listening to our extraordinary experience - it is one I will cherish for the rest of my life. And to the Class of 2024, I know that we will continue to sing and shout with one another even if it is finally time to send us out into the world beyond Loreto.

Sarah
Dux of Loreto 2024