There is no question that 2020 has been a year of the unexpected. As we celebrate and acknowledge our school Leavers, it is worth considering what we might learn.

My grandad left school at 14 for a job with the Post Office. It was a secure job with steady pay and opportunity for promotion, but my grandad came to realise that it was not the right direction for him. Few of us expected to live in the time of a global pandemic; I certainly never expected to see a contagious illness that we could not control without dramatic public health measures. Elizabeth and Zechariah, dependable members of their community, did not expect years of childlessness (Luke 1:5-14).

Life does not always go the way we expect, but we have learned that we can get through. My grandad applied himself with hard work and humility as he returned to study. He was willing to ask for help and received extra tutoring in difficult subjects. As a nation, we have demonstrated the power of working together; of making sacrifices to our personal freedoms for the good of others. I have come to realise how much some of my communities mean to me. And Elizabeth and Zechariah teach us something about hope. When God did bless them with a child, the outcome was greater than they could have imagined.

There is much that is not right in the world, but there are things we can learn from the unexpected. It is even possible for great good to come out of difficult times – God’s purposes for you are good.

During the service, Jess Cowie and Maia Joseph read Psalm 126, Ariana Gepte and Ashleigh McDonald led us in a prayer of thanksgiving and Abby Bowmar read Luke 1:5-8, 11-14. Mrs Pauline Duthie acknowledged the 81 Year 13 and four Year 12 Leavers, Dr Doug Hill, Chair of the Board of Governors, presented Leavers with a Bible, staff presented them with a Columba candle, and Mrs Rachel Bird and Ms Sophie Barker presented gifts from the Columba Old Girls’ Association.

Year 13 Leavers

Antonia Bachop • Evelyn Ballantyne • Sophie Baron • Gabrielle Bird • Ianah Bitac • Olivia Bolwell • Abby Bowmar • Cara Busse • Lauren Buttery • Ella Calder • Tessa Campbell • Amelia Chang • Hannah Clarke • Isabelle Coe • Annalise Copland • Jessica Cowie • Harriett Cuttance • Erin Duff • Katelyn Eaton • Jessica Ecroyd • Amelia Findlater • Madison Flaws • Olivia Fowler • Isobel Fraser • Holly Friedlander • Honor Gauld • Ariana Gepte • Janey Gibbons • Kayla Godkin • Lucy Goodeve • Megan Hanning • Ruth Huang • Maia Joseph • Rebecca Kinney • Molly Law • Allison LeBuffe • Amaya Leslie • Katherine Lewis • Minghongyu Li • Samantha Liggett • Jessica Lim • Joanna Liu • Yufei Liu • Imogene Maclean • Zoe McCane • Emma McCaughan • Sacha McConnon • Ashleigh McDonald • Olivia McPherson • Paige O'Brien • Alice O'Halloran • Stella O'Sullivan • Minori Otsuka • Monique Palmer • Niamh Paterson • Emily Peacock • Nikita-May Peterson-Solomon • Angelique Peyroux • Tamsyn Potgieter • Shanyapat Prasertwongse • Jordan Price • Abigail Pushenko • Cierra Reid • Rebecca Rietveld • Philippa Schaefer • Shannon Sealy • Lara Seaton • Olivia Still • Isabella Su • Jordan Summers • Hanin Taha • Ana Tarapi • Abigail van Blerk • Liberty Vile • Grace Walding • Emily Wesley-Jones • Molly Woodham • Sophie Woodham • Ruoling Xiao • Bowen Xie

Year 12 Leavers

Samantha Kelly • Seowon Lee • Bree Mosley • Camila Tawse-Smith • Lucy-Bell Wickliffe