WGC has always been a progressive institution. It celebrates difference between individuals and encourages inclusiveness. This has never been more apparent as when we sat down to write our prizegiving speech. Anna is 18 years old. Her subjects are the deadly four: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus, and for some relief, History. She also plays sports and debates with a ferocity like no other.

Dee is a hippie and a half.   She loves Shakespeare, and one could always find her hanging out in the Music department hugging a guitar. Taking French, Drama, Classics, Music and English, we make an unconventional pair.  But we are united by the fact we both care deeply about this school and our peers.

There are simply so many things we could say in our speech and when we came to brainstorming, the contrast between our ideas was fascinating. We guess it’s not surprising considering how different we are.  Anna was drawn to a debater’s approach, filled with examples, emotive anecdotes and a kicking structure.

Dee was drawn to a more creative vein of metaphors, acrostic poems and references to nature.  In our kafuffle, we realised this exemplifies perfectly what we love about WGC: we are all acknowledged and appreciated equally, no matter what our differences, who we are or where we come from.  But now we are both WGC graduates and we come from its halls.  Our high school careers have been a journey of discovery; of ourselves, the impact we can make and the community we can belong to as a result.  These are synonymous with the variety of opportunities at WGC, the strong influence of student voice and the community that follows us wherever we go.

WGC’s variety of opportunities has been imperative to our growth and discovery of ourselves.  Not only did it help us to realise our own passions, but allowed us to meet like minded people.  We’d like to compare high school to trying on clothes and WGC to a store with aisles and aisles of different items.  Before buying a garment we need to like two things: the way it looks and the way it fits.  It’s difficult to find the right outfit, and after we think we have it’s common to grow out of it, or begin to dislike it.  But the important thing is that WGC never made us stay in something that wasn’t comfortable; we could go back to the store and return items, exchange them, or pile on more layers.  We were supported and encouraged to venture beyond our comfort zones and try on clothes we may have thought a little too edgy at first.  If there’s one thing we've learned, it’s that you don’t know what suits you till you try it on.  In our books, a positive environment is a place that doesn’t tell you who to be, but says you can be anything.  In this way, WGC has produced a beautiful variety of people, with a beautiful variety of outfits, who are able to collaborate and succeed whilst embracing differences.

To follow Dee’s enlightening metaphor, your second speaker, Anna, will elaborate on how WGC encourages us to discover the impact we can make.  As we already mentioned, WGC is progressive, and offers a variety of opportunities to a variety of people. It’s somewhere that is open-minded, willing to reflect on and remedy traditions and adapt to our fast-changing world. What we’re most thankful for, is how much WGC values student voice and is open to change. In debating, we talk about a mechanism for our solution, in this case the way WGC creates platforms for expressing our opinions, like our Student Council. This year, the Year 13s have had the opportunity to make changes that allow for more independence. For example, reworking the structure of derived grade week so it is broken by a weekend, buying our own microwave, and introducing tutorials; optional classes that required our own time management. In a nutshell, our student voice is not just a token step in school proceedings, it is a valued and integral part of WGC culture. 2019 has been a year of action, with students participating in school strikes for climate, actively supporting teacher strikes and enthusiastically engaging with our school charity, the Neonatal Trust. We will miss this teal whanau, but these experiences mean when we leave we are reassured by the fact that we can make an impact and our voices deserve to be heard. We’re growing up, and thanks to WGC, we’re ready for the independence of flying into a new chapter.

Whilst we fly in a new chapter, so do the rest of the school. Every year is different and exciting. It has been a privilege to represent all our fellow students and we cannot wait to see what changes they bring to the school. From Year 9s finally mastering the art of keeping left, to Year 12s ready to lead the school next year, we have been, and always will be inspired by who they are and what they achieve. It is our desire to make them proud that has motivated us to no end.

It has been especially rewarding to represent the Class of 2019. We are are overwhelming grateful for their support and faith in us this year. We made it, through thick and thin. It’s been a marathon of ball outfit updates, prank day controversy, and bucket loads of laughter. We cannot wait to see what everyone goes on to achieve; they are brilliant and we have so much aroha for them all. It’s been incredible to give back in 2019, and though we’re very different, learning, growing, and leading together is something Dee and I will always treasure.

As our school vision states: Mā te kahukura ka rere te manu, ka rere runga rawa. Adorn the bird with feathers and let it fly, let it soar. It is because of the entire teal whānau of relatives, friends, staff, the Board and the Parents’ Association that the Class of 2019 are ready to leave the teal nest that’s been our second home for the past 5 years.  It’s truly been the time of our lives.

Ngā mihi nui koutou, mā te wā.