Class of 2020 sent off COVID-style

Year 12 students were farewelled on Wednesday 4 November in way that was unlike any previous final days in the long history of the College.

The barbeque breakfast traditionally cooked by the teachers was replaced with a packaged meal professionally cooked by the College caterers. The students and staff wore masks when not eating and posed for photos which will always mark 2020 as the year they managed Year 12 under lockdown.

The day had a dress-up theme of “school uniform through the ages” and many students squeezed back into primary school uniforms for the day.

After breakfast, the students took a final, sentimental walk up Wright Street together, cheered on by Year 10 and 11 students. This year they were unable to enjoy a warm and nostalgic send-off in front of the whole school, with the usual recap by College Captains and a handover to the incoming leadership team.

Instead, a final briefing and preparation for the coming exams along with a short reflection on the past six years and the events of 2020 was a sombre reminder of the difficult year everyone has endured.

Mr Brian Turner commended the students on the way they had conducted themselves throughout the period of remote school and other learning restrictions. He acknowledged the stressful events of the year both locally and globally and encouraged a hopeful outlook as the College community emerges into a more optimistic future.

Mr Turner and the Year 12 teaching staff wished all the students the best for the impending exams as well as for future study, apprenticeships and work.

In their final Mentor meeting, the students were presented with letters they had written to themselves as Year 7s.

With the possible easing of restrictions indicated for coming weeks, the College is hopeful of providing a suitably joyful graduation celebration for Year 12 students at the conclusion of exams in December.