Toast to the School 2022

This is an edited speech delivered at the Year 12 Leavers’ Dinner for the Class of 2022 by Ben Bosmans, School Captain (2022).

Well good evening everyone. I’m glad that more people could make it to this than last week’s Paul Dillon talk.

Mr Jones’ the Shinkansen has finally made it. This is the last stop. And we made it with (almost) everyone intact. At the start of the year, Mr Jones used the metaphor of a Shinkansen to represent Year 12 because it moves so quickly. If Year 12 is a Shinkansen, then long before we even got on board we were travelling on a horse and buggy at the formation of this cohort in Year 7.

Being thrown into Year 7 with a bunch of students that you don’t know was a little daunting for us, but we soon found our groove. It only took us a week to get out of the default ‘so what sport are you doing’ conversation starter. Soon enough, we were being reminded to pull our socks up (really don’t miss that) and people had discovered the joys of back-locking people’s lockers. We each were tasked with writing our Schoology bios, and there are even a lucky few who escaped anyone getting a copy of those before Schoology was laid peacefully to rest.

Year 8 saw us up the ante because Year 8 meant Projec10 and the Year 8 social with girls. It was the last year with the nophones policy, so I guess that says something about our cohort. Mr Stanley had his first year and has since gone on to head the Middle School fantastically.

Year 9 was the first year in the white shirt, and Senior School did not hold back. We were thrown into more homework and more responsibility but also more freedom and opportunity. This year also saw us become veterans of Dr Hicks’ famed war on banter.

Then came Year 10. A month or so into the year, I remember being at Scott Zheng’s birthday party, and jokingly saying to one of the people there that ‘we better enjoy this before corona hits.’ This was at the stage when Corona was still a beer, and Zoom was still a verb, so I received a weird look in return; but, before we knew it, we were seated in Year 10 History class being told in no uncertain terms by Mr Hone that the world was going to end. And while the world didn’t quite end, it definitely got turned upside down. Showing up to school in tracky-daks and waking up five minutes before class was not only acceptable, it was normal. Year 11 saw the grand opening of Dorset, that house near the Contemplation Garden which 99% of the students have still never been inside. I honestly barely remember anything from Year 11 because of the scattered lockdowns and restrictions, so on to Year 12.

So, we finally reached the end of Year 11 and Mr Jones called ‘All Aboard’. We were a year level more determined than ever to live out our Year 12, and we did not fail to deliver. This year, for us, was a year marked by the things that only Year 12s get to do. We were able to have our formal, at which we had the first ever arrival by boat. We carried Chess at Hamer Hall, fought tooth and nail in House events, and I would also be remiss to not mention some of the notable achievements of this cohort. We are the only Year 12 cohort in Dr Hicks’ memory that hasn’t been kicked out of the common room. For perspective, the last two years’ cohorts weren’t even able to use the common room for most of the year and still got kicked out. We had a record low of three casualties – two toasty machines and one microwave – and have increased our gut immunity by at least 50% through the common room’s use.

We also have had immense sporting success. The Camberwell Grammar First Football team won a whole three games this season, smashing expectations and proving to the School that all is not lost for Camberwell Grammar footy. In Athletics, we won the 100th Premiership. We have debating champions and music phenoms. The talent on display here in every facet of school life is astonishing, and I have no doubt that there will be many from this cohort that will go on to be inducted into the Gallery of Achievement.

While it is good to recognise these achievements, we would not be able to attain them without all the people who have made our journey so enjoyable and such a smooth ride.

To our teachers, thank you. You are the heart and soul of Camberwell Grammar and we are so appreciative of the tenacity, patience, and kindness you display on a daily basis. To Mr Jones, for your role as Year 12 Coordinator this year – ensuring that people are in the right place at the right time and that everyone’s paperwork is all sorted out, while maintaining a full-time advertising contract with the Camberwell Grammar School Rotary Interact Club, is no small feat. For that, we are extremely appreciative.

To Mrs Reiger, for your tireless work in guiding us towards our future. You have helped us develop a vision for where we want to find ourselves in life and have even hunted us down when we didn’t want to think about it.

To Mrs Carbone, Mrs Elliott, Ms Sangster, and Ms Luca, thank you for your incredible administrative efforts, allowing us to abstract away the organisational complexities of our school life to focus on our studies and extra-curriculars.

To Dr Hicks, Mr Jeacocke, Mr Stanley, and Mr Rayner, thank you for your guidance throughout our time throughout Middle and Senior School. There is so much work that gets done behind your desks that we students never see, and you have had no small part in shaping the Camberwell Grammar culture that we all love so much. To Mr Jeacocke especially, it was your first year, and you have integrated yourself into Camberwell Grammar seamlessly.

Finally, to the unsung heroes of our lives at high school, thank you to our parents. The commitments that we make here are not just student commitments. They’re parental ones too. I think of all the times my parents have driven me to sport matches, competitions, and music events; the list goes on. I think of their patience in listening to me play the same piece of music over and over in preparation for my music exams while they try to work. I think of all the times they have shown up to watch me perform and play sport. And then I think of the fact that they are doing it three times over with my brothers. I know I am not alone in this experience. We have the privilege of having parents that can and have invested in our education. It would be a shame to waste that.

It is time for us to set our sights on the future. This is where we step off the Shinkansen and are let out into the station. In a way, it is just like pulling into Flinder’s Street station in our civics week in Year 7. We can go anywhere from here, and there are endless opportunities to explore. The world is ours for the taking, and if the Camberwell Grammar experience has taught us anything, it’s that we should dare to change the world: speak with conviction, aim high, and shoulder responsibility. As we heard yesterday, very few people are given the opportunity we have, and as the 134th class to graduate from this school, I couldn’t be prouder of who I am graduating with. If there is anything that Camberwell Grammar has taught me, it’s that while ambition, hard work, and success are important, a community to fall back on is just as vital. Because we fall down just as often as we rise up, and you fall down much harder without a group of people to catch you. On the annual Year 9 camp in cadets, we were sleeping in a hutchie (a glorified tarp), and you’re supposed to dig trenches around your hutchie in case it rains so that the water doesn’t flood into your sleeping area. Well, we didn’t do that. So, at 2.00am in the morning, while it was three degrees outside, we found ourselves digging trenches with freezing pickaxes into rock-hard ground while our clothes and sleeping bags got soaked. Alone, that experience would have been objectively terrible. But, as we fumbled around in the darkness, we found ourselves laughing at our misfortune, bound together by the shared experience of that night. That I think epitomises my last five years. The beauty of it is that it only happens once.

One thing I have found myself doing throughout this year is making a point of remembering certain moments because life at Camberwell Grammar moves so fast. Although I may not miss the pungent smell of those trees or trying to do a SAC with cadets yelling beneath us, there is a lot I will miss. I’ll miss singing our hearts out in Art class to Mr Wills’ eclectic music taste, belting out Chess, and House Music Competitions. I’ll miss Ms Wood’s decorated English classroom, highly productive chemistry practicals with Mr Cathcart, and deep chats with Mr Duong in methods.

Although it is good to remember the sweet moments of the past, it’s important to appreciate the present and not get bogged down in our memories. It’s important to appreciate the company we have in each other tonight. At Assemblies throughout the year, I would sometimes give a quote that resonated with me. I thought that master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda could articulate this better than me when he said: ‘Quit, don’t quit. Noodles…don’t noodles. You are too concerned with what was and what will be. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it’s called the present.’

So, for the final time as a group, let’s appreciate the present, could you all please be upstanding and join me in raising a toast to the School. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. For the experiences, the friendships, the ups the downs, and the loopthe-loops. Spectemur Agendo.

To the School.

Ben Bosmans

School Captain 2022