As this week marks the conclusion of the Year 12 students’ journey at The Knox School, it’s a time for the entire Senior School community to pause, reflect, and celebrate each individual’s path to graduation. The Class of 2024 has experienced milestones, triumphs, and challenges, and now, as they prepare to step beyond our gates, we are reminded that each student’s journey is deeply personal and unique, no matter when they began their time here.
In my recent Valedictory Assembly Address to our graduating class, I spoke about the journey through Senior School and how it mirrors the experience of growth found in one of my favourite childhood stories, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. The story speaks to the transformation that happens over time, how life, with its mix of joys and hardships, is what makes us “real.” As I reflected on my own schooling years, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the journey of the rabbit and the one taken by our students.
For our Year 12 graduates, this transformation has been shaped by the friendships they have built, the lessons they have learned, and the personal growth they have experienced. Some joined our School in Junior School, while others found their place with us later, but no matter the starting point, each student has walked a path that is uniquely theirs. Through academic pursuits, co-curricular involvement, and moments of personal triumph, they’ve become the people they are today: resilient, capable, and full of potential.
This week’s events have been a time to recognise and reflect on those individual journeys. Whether it was during House events, EISM sport, School performances or leadership roles, each of our Year 12s has left an imprint on the fabric of The Knox School. As I addressed the Class of 2024, I reminded them, as I remind all of us now, that real success does not come from perfection but from the courage to embrace every experience, good and bad, that life throws their way.
As a community, we have witnessed the wear and tear that comes with growth, but it’s in those moments of struggle that our students have truly come into their own. They leave us with not just academic knowledge, but with the character, empathy, and determination that will serve them as they embark on the next stage of their journey.
To the graduating Class of 2024, remember that this week marks not an end, but a beginning. The world awaits you, full of possibility. As you step forward, carry with you the lessons you have learned here, the friendships you have forged, and the knowledge that becoming “real” is a journey that never truly ends.
Congratulations, Class of 2024. We couldn’t be prouder of the people you have become.
Ms Janelle Mathias
Head of Senior School
