Brisbane State High School Graduation Ceremony

Executive Principal, Mr Wade Haynes; distinguished guests; students, staff and supporters of Brisbane State High School.

It is a special privilege to be invited to speak to the graduating class of 2018.

Although it is a time of great celebration, it is also a time of great solemnity.

You have reached a point when a line is drawn between the life you have always known, and the life you are about to create.

For the past 12 years you have worn a uniform, done your homework, and gone to and from school with metronomic regularity.

In two hours all of that will change.

From this day on the world will treat you, not as school students, but as the independent young people you are.

But the lessons learned across the road will never leave you.

Although the words ‘Growth Mindset’ might elicit a groan from you right now, you will learn its value as you realise the indelible effect it has had on your thinking, and your future.

Staff, I thank you for the part you have played in helping to create that future.

You have watched these young people grow and thrive, and you will not be forgotten.

Parents and families, this celebration belongs as much to you as it does to the students.

Enjoy this special moment, and be as proud of yourselves as you are of them.

Students, take a moment to reflect on all you want to achieve before it becomes your turn to step on the stage – and make it happen.

Graduates, you step forth now bathed in the hope and buoyed by the support of all present.

You carry your own dreams, and it is you who will make them a reality.

You are not leaving State High alone.

You are forever connected to the people who surround you now.

You have shared some of your life’s greatest moments – you have laughed together, played sport together, sat QCS together.

There have been tears of frustration and joy, hearts broken and uplifted, exams sat and survived.

Take a moment to look around you at the sea of blazers and familiar faces, and treasure this time together.

I congratulate you on everything you have done to get here, and I wish you all the very best going forward, whatever path you take.

The future awaits you when you walk out those doors, but the past will always be a part of you.

While you may not literally bleed ‘Blue, Red, Blue’, you will always be ‘State High Til You Die’.

Thank you.