On Friday 15 November the graduates of 2019 left the sports hall for the last time to the beat of the Taiko drums. There were tears, hugs and congratulations from families, friends, younger students, staff and each other. In a moving Valedictory ceremony, students heard from their Executive Principal, Student Leaders, and Secondary School Principal, about the mark they have made at the College as well as advice for the future. Executive Principal, Lisa Starmer, reminded the audience how special this group have been right from their prep year of schooling. They will forever be the first cohort of students to complete 13 years of education.

The assembly was incredibly proud of the vocal performance from year 12 student Seini Baleiyasawa, who sang a beautiful rendition of “Whenever you remember” by Carrie Underwood. Previous school captain Nicole Antonio, and proud member of the Calamvale Alumni, spoke to the year 12 students about the challenges and joys that await them post schooling and encouraged them to seek challenge and to be resilient.

Secondary School Principal Sharyn Angel commended the students on embracing all of the opportunities that they have been afforded at Calamvale and urged them to continue to seek and consolidate further opportunities in their lifetime.

The packed sports hall was a reminder of how special these year 12 students are to our staff, their parents and the wider community. We thank our parents and caregivers of our 2019 graduates for entrusting your students to us. We urge all of our Year 12 students to become a part of the Calamvale Alumni and we thank them for their contribution to our community and for the great contribution they are going to make to the world.