Head Boy, Jimmy Robinson shares his memories of his time at Logan Park High School.

My time at Logan Park has been the most character defining and deciding experience of my life, it's offered me so many moments and memories that all add up to create Jimmy Robinson, and these moments I'll forever cherish. Over my five years of attendance I've received so much support in all that I've wanted to do from both my peers and my teachers, I can't rightly express how much that support means to me and how much I appreciate the wisdom that has been offered me. As a small way of giving back all that's been given to me I'd like to offer one piece of advice for 2017: Don't be afraid.

Logan Park, as I'm sure many of you will have realised, is an incredibly special place with a truly familial and communal atmosphere. Everyone here, staff and student alike, want the best for each other so if you have some issues or grievances please don't be afraid to explain them to someone so they can try help you. Whether it's stresses outside of school or a mismanagement of your workload or any other kind of issue the school can't support you if they don't know they need to, and collectively we want above all else to make sure those attending Logan Park are happy and comfortable.
To summarise this paragraph: don't be afraid to communicate as communicating is easy, the better your teachers understand you the better they can teach you and cater to your individual needs as both a student and simply as a developing human.

Another way in which 'Don't be afraid' applies is regarding the opportunities your time at Logan Park will present you with. Over the course of my five years at Logan Park so many offers of fun and experience have been made to me through the notices and general word of mouth and looking back I feel regret at declining some of those offers. Nothing comes of nothing, life is what you make it, so when life gives you lemons you better make something equally cool if you don't want to make lemonade.
The best experiences of my life have come from saying 'yes' at pivotal points where my first instinct was to say no due to personal inhibitions or just general laziness. What if I had said no when Jasper Holloway in year 10 asked me 'Wanna sing in band' ? What if I had said no when Josephine Devereux asked me if I'd like to be a nasty mental hospital strong-arm (like from Terminator 2) in her and Aelyth's five minute Shakespeare scene?
These are just two examples of points in my school life I consider to be definitive and deciding of the man I've become leaving Logan Park, had my (irrational) fears making a fool of myself driven me to say no at either of these points I believe I would have had some very different experiences with Music and Drama; my two passions, no participation in any Rockquests, no performing Smokestack at prize-giving in 2013, no playing with Delaney Davidson (one of my favourite musicians), no Shakespeare success, no young Shakespeare company, no trip to the Globe Theatre in London.

Please, if you're given the opportunity to do something you want to do don't let yourself rationalise why you shouldn't due to whatever inhibitions you may have as the very best (and I really do mean the very best) experiences of my life have come from saying 'yes' when silly little brain wants to say 'no'.

Logan Park has given so much to me in terms of character defining and learning experiences and I know it still has so many wee opportunities to offer each and every one of its students and it would truly be a tragedy if someone missed the chance to pursue and enrich their passion because they were too shy to apply to do so or discuss ways to make whatever was being offered work for them.

And with that I'd like to wish all of you in and around the Logan Park community the very best of luck for 2017. Be kind, be friendly, be humble and be brave, I hope you all end up as happy and confident as the school has left me when it comes your time to leave.