Every year I’ve watched the head boy and girl speeches at senior prizegiving and felt a huge rush of nostalgia and emotion. Every year I’ve thought “thank goodness that’s not me, I don’t know how I’d cope with that much emotion”. Every year I’ve reminded myself that I don’t need to worry, because I’ve got so many more precious days left at this school. But this time, it’s for real.

There’s a million things I’m going to miss about Logan Park, and obviously I can’t list them all or I may bore you to death. However, I have compiled a short list of things I’m going to miss that are too significant to be overlooked:

• I’m gonna miss walking into a classroom and hearing the reassuring strum of Trent’s ukulele.

• I’m gonna miss making daisy chains on the grass outside the science block.

• I’m gonna miss passionately jamming to the Backstreet Boys everyday during group time.

• I’m gonna miss all the niche inside jokes from jazz band.

• I’m gonna miss the welcoming arms of the drama block.

• I’m gonna miss being part of karaoke week, where everyone comes together, regardless of year level or singing experience.

• I’m gonna miss the hash browns from the canteen.

But most of all, I’m going to miss the people.

On year 13 camp, I decided to abseil frontwards, because Dr Thompson makes it look really easy. However, I have terrible balance so I immediately lost my footing and essentially became stranded 50 metres in the air, hanging by a rope. I was sort of just sitting very uncomfortably on the cliff face, completely unsure how to proceed, and mildly panicked.

At this exact moment, Mr Kain parked up at the bottom of the cliff with a van full of year 13s who had just finished kayaking. I was like "wow, great, I love it when lots of people see me looking like an incompetent idiot".

But straight away all the year 13s in the van started enthusiastically yelling out positive comments, like "you got this". I saw thumbs up, love hearts, and smiles, which immediately restored my faith in my admittedly questionable abseiling abilities, and I proudly reached the bottom of the cliff.

There’s nothing that I will miss more than being surrounded by people who are so unbelievably caring, supportive, and genuine. Having you by my side, and being by your side, is something that I will always treasure.

To the wonderful teachers of Logan Park, and to our impressive co-principals - thank you. Your warmth and compassion never fails to amaze me. You have inspired us all, and no one will ever forget the huge contributions you have made to our lives.

To the students in the years below - I have complete faith in the future of Logan Park thanks to you, and I can’t wait to see all of the amazing things you accomplish. You are true Logan Parkians, and that is something to be proud of.

And finally, to my year 13 whānau - knock ‘em dead. It has been a pleasure and a privilege working alongside you for the past five years, and I have learnt so much from all of you. I will never forget the laughs, the memories, and the friendships, because they mean so much. The future is scary, but I know we’re ready, so go out there and show the world what you’ve got, because what you’ve got is something really special.