Toast to the Leavers 2022

This is an edited speech given to the Leavers of 2022 by Mr Troy Stanley, Head of Middle School, at the Leavers’ Dinner at Marvel Stadium.

Most of you were registered here at birth, or at least when you were very young, and many of your teachers here tonight have been by your side for a significant part of your journey… So this night is a huge milestone – for everyone in the room, and I am most honoured and humbled to have been asked to make this speech tonight.

To the parents who have invested financially and emotionally, tonight offers you a great celebration – no more school fees. And even better, no more DEEDS posts. But on the other hand, you will miss the regular connection with the School, the stories, the sport, the concerts, and especially each other’s company on a regular basis. And I know those who have invested time and a lot of love into one or more ‘Friends of Groups’ will feel the pinch more than most. I hope tonight marks the beginning of the next chapter of your journey with Camberwell Grammar.

Dux of the School in 1889 and famous essayist, Sir Walter Murdoch, stated ‘all my memories of school were happy ones’, and whilst your exams are imminent, it would be naive to think that all of your memories will be happy right now, but I hope the happiest memories stick – and that tonight offers you a chance to reflect on some of your own happy memories.

Most of you know that I moved from Sydney with my wife and three children to take on the Middle School responsibility in 2018 when you guys were in Year 8. Like most things in life, retrospectively, a lot of our personal and professional experiences – both good and bad, happy and sad – prepare you for the next step in your career. Up to that point, I thought I was ready for the next step, but nothing could have prepared me for the top floor of the Angliss Building in 2018.

The first day of school started well… I saw all the Year 6 boys in their first year of Middle School on the ground floor, moved up to level 2 where I was greeted by the Year 7s nervously starting their first day as well. Then up to Year 8 on the top floor. Things instantly felt a little different. Before I’d even opened the door, Leeshan Navaneetharaja came over to test out the new guy – ‘Hey Sir,’ he shouted, showing me his name in his diary, ‘can you pronounce my name?’ Of course, I couldn’t. And all the students laughed.

Leeshan was like the ‘flash-bang grenade’ designed to shock me and then I was thrown into a classroom with the 8T berserkers. To name a few, Colin Jiang, Conrad Thornton, Simon Lewison, Fletcher Von Arx, and Gus Bellchambers.

To be honest, they were all great kids and I think that after a few hiccups, we got on pretty well, although I know you despised my attempts to reign in the mullets and mobile phones. And, judging by your hairdos tonight, we know who won that battle!

One of my greatest joys about working in the Middle School is meeting the students and families in the early years, and working with them as they test their own limits, and ours! Watching them grow and reflect on how far they have come. This cohort truly is a very tight-knit group of mates: loyal, respectful, and hard-working – what a fine upstanding group of young men you have turned out to be.

I was going to offer you three points of advice tonight, but having known you for five years, and having my own kids, I now realise that children are born knowing everything, and from your firstborn onwards, we gradually lose knowledge, until the moment our kids turn 15, and we lose it all!

The purpose of a great education is to help them discover and develop their own passions and strengths. So, the first piece of advice was going to be: ‘Want less and give more’. We’ve been telling you to strive for more, more, more… but there has to be a balance. When we strive, we need to strive for a greater good, rather than purely personal gain. To quote author and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk ‘there is a fine line between selfish and selfless’. But I know you knew that, and a reason you chose Camberwell Grammar.

The second piece of advice was going to be: ‘Do what you love, love what you do.’ Watching you guys come to school, go to class and learn, laugh at lunchtime, practice, train, and play is a clear sign that you already knew that. With such a broad scope of offerings across the School, it was surely another reason you chose us, although this cohort is very different from any others in recent history. And, from my perspective, as a cohort, you have provided the School with exactly what we needed in 2017. Bringing a greater emphasis on teamwork, collective, self-belief, and competitive spirit. And I will tell you how…

We have amazing actors, academics, musicians, and sportsmen in this cohort. And in 2015-16, when you and your parents were deciding which school you were going to commit to, there was a huge pile of dirt in the middle of the School, which would transform a small 23m pool and gym space into the amazing Sports Centre. And when many of you commenced your journey in 2017, the Sports Centre was opened. An amazing facility and a clear indication that sport was going to be prioritised amongst its other areas of excellence, and I am certain that for many of you, it was a reason why you chose Camberwell Grammar over other schools on your list.

Now in Year 12, and competing at the highest level in the classroom, on stage, and at Saturday Sport, the Leavers of 2022 have been the pioneers; and now have a stream of students in lower years who have joined the School for similar reasons. They have watched and followed your lead, and it is no surprise that we have all witnessed a meteoric rise across all of our sports, matching the other pillars of the School which have been flourishing for so long and continue to do so.

For a long time, the School has been competitive in academia, music, and theatre. It’s not about winning or topping the exams, to quote Dr Paul Hicks, ‘we are all gifted in many ways, and we know that the effort we put in is far more important than the achievement.’ The endeavour is to be the best version of yourself. Which leads me to the third and final piece of advice (which you already know), which is to be the best version of yourself and maximise on your own personal strengths.

According to others who have seen many more than me, this year’s Hamer Hall Concert was one of, if not the best, in history. And who could forget The Threepenny Opera in the worldfamous Spiegeltent.

This year we witnessed a magical Elva Allen Concert and who would have dreamt of Camberwell Grammar and Scotch performing on the same stage, which occurred during the Inaugural Richard Gill Memorial Concert, along with Melbourne Girls Grammar, but what an occasion that was.

To rise to the standard we persistently see gracing the stage or taking out the AGSV Championships, or being your very best in the classroom, requires an enormous amount of competitive spirit and a burning desire to better yourself every day. You can only do that by being true to yourself.

I believe that this is the legacy you leave. Collectively, you have brought and bred teamwork, healthy competition, and self-belief. On the playing fields, in the classroom, and in performance halls, you have used your resources, your teammates, your cast, and your classmates proving that ‘no one is as smart as all of us.’

Throughout one of the most challenging eras of education, you have adopted a glass-half-full approach and accepted the challenges strewn along your High School journey, and through this lens and your experiences on your journey, you are more ready than previous generations of school leavers to tackle the many challenges that lie ahead.

Thank you for your good-natured banter, your mateship, and your humble pursuit of excellence. And thank you in advance for going out into the world armed with your very own, unique set of skills to make this world a better place.

In light of Sir Walter Murdoch, whether all of your memories of school were happy or not, may you continue to be guided by our School Motto to ensure that you hold your integrity close to your chest and aspire to be a good person above everything else.

Spectemur Agendo.

Mr Troy Stanley

Head of Middle School