Page 8 - Southwell School Year Book 2021

PRIZE GIVING ADDRESS - HEAD PREFECTS
Head Boy - Avinash Patel
Congratulations Year 8s. Today is your day.
You’re off to great places. You’re off and away.
You’ve got brains in your head,
You’ve got feet in your shoes,
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
Starting off down a new path, choosing what our futures can look like, taking the next step in our school life, these all seem like HUGE
things and I am struggling to believe that these are our last few hours at Southwell. I have been coming here since I was three, dropping my sister to school and waving goodbye to her one minute and then joining her at school the next. The first page of our story started with socks too long and shorts too big, no gap between the bottom of one and the top of the other. We were newbies who were nervous, eager and excited, I guess much like we are now.
Before we turn the page, write the next line, start a new chapter, I think we should take a moment to think about what being here has meant. Our successes, our progress and growth. Each one of us has conquered our own personal challenges, giving speeches, making new friends, auditioning for productions, surviving lockdowns, playing on a sports team or climbing Mount Tongariro. And, while we will face many more challenges in high school, I know we will conquer them because of what we have learned here.
I am grateful to every teacher who has contributed to growing me, encouraging me and giving me the confidence to give everything a go. And I am not the only one who is appreciative. When I asked you what you will miss most about Southwell, your responses were overwhelmingly consistent:
the library, Opera, music groups, specialist classes, great teachers and most of all, friendships. The people here are the heart of this school - our teachers, the coaches, the staff and our friends.
Our friends have given us a reason to laugh and play no matter how much uncertainty we have faced in 2021. This last term has been rough with endless lockdowns, learning online and special events being cancelled. But, we finish this year as we should, we celebrate the end of this year as we started - together.
I love Southwell and I'm excited and nervous for high school. But we're ready, it's time, and to finish... more from the great Dr Seuss...
Out there things can happen, and frequently do,
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
You're off to Great Places, Today is your day,
Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way.
Per Aspera Ad Astrum. Avinash Patel
Head Girl - Kyra-Mae Wilson
It feels like only yesterday that I was walking into school as a Year 6 student. Everything was different and only a few faces were familiar to me. I made some friends fairly quickly and they were the best people I could ever imagine for my first year at a new school. The three of us were so close and I will never forget how they let me slip into school and become so comfortable here. I made my way around a place that was so different compared to what I had grown up around, not knowing that it would soon become like home to me.
This school offers endless opportunities and that wouldn’t be possible without the amazing staff that make this school what it is today. Mrs V., you were my first teacher when I came here and you were such a comfort, and have been ever since
the moment I stepped into that classroom. Thank you for helping me adjust, and thank you for everything you did to make me the person that I am now, you have made such a difference in my life. Mrs McLean and Mr Cameron, I have had such fun getting to know you both and you have been amazing, whether it was teaching me about grammar, or simply when to keep my mouth shut. You have been a great influence. Thank you.
Now onto what is probably my favourite part of school - Opera. I hadn’t been in a proper school show before. I came from a small school whose shows were nowhere near the scale of what we do here. But when I came to Southwell my mind was opened up to everything I had been missing. Mrs Walker - the Southwell Operas have absolutely been one of my highlights at this school, and with your help, they have really shaped me into the musical lover that I am today. I hope to carry on with this, because I have found that my passion lies on stage, and you are the one that showed me what it really feels like to love acting. But, this goes with any music. I have always known that I like singing, but the entire music staff - Mrs McIntyre and Mrs Trenwith - you have been a massive encouragement in my musical journey. I am telling you all, these people can help you in ways that I can’t even explain. Cherish them, while you still have them.
Southwell has brought me some of the greatest friends that anyone could ever ask for. Through the years, friends have come and gone, but the friendships that I have made here are forever. My current
friends are the coolest group of people ever, and I am so unbelievably lucky to have them in my life, and I hope we can all continue to grow together in the years to come. There have been ups and downs, tears and laughter, and I am so grateful for all of it, because it has been with the best bunch of people. They are yet another thing that has allowed me to fully be myself and become who I am today.
Year 8 is a time that we all wait for, when we are the oldest in the school and everyone looks up to us, and I can honestly say that it was all that I was hoping for and more. This school has influenced me and helped me grow in ways that I can’t even explain.
All I can say is, make the most of this school. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it's gone, and now I know that I will never truly lose this school, I will carry it with me and remember everything that I have learned. Southwell teaches you to be the best version of yourself.
Southwell truly does make you a better person. I don’t really know how else to tell you all how lucky you are to have this school in your life, so cherish it, because sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Per Aspera Ad Astrum. Kyra-Mae Wilson
6
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Make the most of this school.