The ceremony began with a welcome from Preshil’s Principal, Josh Brody, who congratulated the Year 12 students on their hard work and thanked the teachers, staff, and families for their unwavering support.
We’ve prepared a short video with some of the photographic highlights:
A number of Year 12 students spoke during the first part of this event. They spoke about the challenges and triumphs of the past four years, and encouraged their classmates to continue working hard and following their dreams in the future:
Graduating student, Angelo von Möller, began by sharing the following special words and memories:
I remember almost all of our first days here. I’ll start from as early as I can remember: Louis particularly I remember in the 3s, it was Book Week and I remember Nick coming to drop you off and Boaz and I sitting on the trunk of a fallen peppercorn tree next to the 3s and 4s doing whatever, I was dressed as one of the bears from Goldilocks, Acorn you were dressed as a little chicken and were holding a gigantic egg! I’m not sure whether it was your first day Mila but it would have to be pretty early on. You had very excitedly told us that you had just come from a holiday at the International Space Station, conveniently we had just started as a year group with our teacher Tracy building a rocket ship. I remember this being absolutely terrifying for me – I thought we were being sent to space indefinitely.
Nap time for the four of us was a troubled scenario with none of us wanting to go to sleep. I’m sure we particularly will remember the time that Rafferty chased Freddy off of the climbing frame- actually falling off of climbing frames and trees was quite the common experience for our year group. Boaz you had your fair share of it.
Most dramatic was the time in the 5s (Prep) when Hugo was playing on the climbing frame and fell… I assumed I could deal with it in the same manner that you see in Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes episodes so I quickly sprinted to get a beanbag to brace his fall. Unfortunately, time doesn’t work that way and the arm was very broken.
Those of us here who were here in Year 6 would remember the time that Jared joined our Soccer game on the footy field and it got down to a penalty shootout between Jared and Louis. We won the game however it did come at the cost of Louis breaking his arm for the nth time. How could any of us forget the long-lasting games of Gang Up or Capture the Flag or other games in the front yard at Arlington? The bell would eventually ring for us to go back to class but you were never safe from Brandy even in the classroom.
The cubbies were something very memorable for all of us at Arlington in the pines. Boaz and I took up the roles of Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Cubbyville respectively and implemented a nail tax (as that was the most valuable currency in town). We rented out the various plots of land which consisted of Hugo Wilson and Fletcher Alderton’s blacksmith and many more.
I’m sure we remember Separates, if you were lucky enough to be in Deb’s group you were spoiled with tea, cake and biscuits to accompany the many stories, most notably The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place and the Alex Rider Series. We’re now having a similar experience as we did back in Year 6 with a tearful but joyous ceremony of us graduating to Blackhall Kalimna where the stories of those who weren’t at Arlington join us.
Fellow graduating student, Otto Esperson, also went on to share the following:
The cohort changed once we arrived at Blackhall Kalimna. In Year 7 the overwhelming and inescapable chatter, laughter and heckling of Clancy and Dash shook every classroom and teacher’s soul. The many peculiar hums hyms of Ryder and Rupert peppered our ears as we played flappy golf in Anthony’s Design class while the dedicated few attempted woodworking. We studied the ancient Greek Minoans and Myceneans, of which Ryder became one of their gods, in Mary-Annes I&S class.
In Year 8 we were forced to eat the grey rubber scrambled eggs and peculiar meats offered by Camp Rumbug. We ran through the immensely underwhelming mud run, of which the only thing close to mud to be found was a small pool of murky water. We studied Chicken Run in June’s English class and made plastacene models which littered the roofs of upper Kalimna. Daniel’s rage would shake us all as he would chase Meier across the school grounds.
In Year 9 we slept in the Grampians on a windy night upon a bed of Kangaroo droppings. We enjoyed a cooking shift one night that involved a lot of pasta.
In Year 10 we got our first taste of COVID lockdowns. We all studied with utmost diligence as we maneuvered those unprecedented times, although you would assume there was precedence by the hundredth time we heard that phrase. Meier’s unpredictable Zoom locations, whether it be in the bathtub, under a bed, or in a cupboard, provided entertainment as we sat through online classes. However, we made it through, most of us at least, and were ready to take the IB head on.
Other highlights of the ceremony included a walk of honour from the Blackhall Kalimna Campus to the Arlington Campus where students, teachers and members of the School Council enjoyed a special Valedictory Dinner.
Overall, the class of 2022 Valedictory Ceremony was a memorable and poignant event, marking the end of one journey and the beginning of another for these talented and accomplished young people.
