There were tears, hugs and some gentle but cautionary words of advice at end-of-year celebrations for Year 12 students at Batemans Bay High School and Carroll College yesterday.
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At both schools, students were farewelled with a special assembly.
Between the snuffles, students used the words “awesome” and “life-changing” to describe their collective high school experiences.
“There’s been so many good times,” Batemans Bay High School’s Luke Dudman said. “But I’m so glad to be finished.”
Fellow Bay student Rachael Kyle agreed, saying she couldn’t be happier to leave.
“I’m so glad it’s over,” she said.
There were times when people thought Rachael wouldn’t make it through, but she did.
“It’s a bit overwhelming, but it’s good,” she said.
For Alice Kerkham, Bay High, the reality of finishing school hadn’t sunk in yet.
“It just doesn’t feel like we’ve finished,” she said.
“It probably won’t kick-in until we’ve finished our exams.”
Carroll College Year 12 coordinator John Nardusso has attended 25 graduation ceremonies and offered plenty of clichéd advice along the way.
However his words of advice were simple this year: “Be careful, be safe”.
“One year I told them to ‘Think outside the square’ which they likened to the Ikea furniture ads on TV,” he said.
“With all the stuff happening at the moment my advice this year is just be careful in all that you do, be careful driving, be careful in your relationships, be careful drinking, just be careful in life - it’s a different world out there.”
He also cautioned students to “be nice to your mother”.
The students are on study break until October 14 when the HSC officially starts.
Carroll College has 63 graduating students this year, including a number involved in Vocational Education Training.
“The kids are emotional on days like this,” Mr Nardusso said.
“They have mixed feelings of being happy to be finishing school but at the same time they are having their security blanket ripped out from under them.”
Mr Nardusso was reluctant to name any one “outstanding student” from the Carroll College Year 12 group but said the overall student body was a “lovely, well-balanced group of kids”.
Year 12 students at Moruya High School and St Peter’s Anglican School have their last day today. See next week’s Bay Post/Moruya Examiner for photographs.
TOP: Batemans Bay High School Year 12 students include: Royce Adair, Kristy Apps, Lucas Attwood, Shane Baghurst, Torin Barnes, Ryan Barwick, Jay Bell, Ashley Bellchambers, Jack Bollard, Kathryn Brett, Jasmine Burgess, Stephanie Bussey, Ella Cameron, Jessica Curruthers, Damien Catt, Rebecca Ciuffetelli, Daniel Clement, Hannah Connell, Amanda-Lee Cooke, Brandon Cooper, Cameron Creswell, Benjamin Croft, Sheridan Dawes, Amy Dolbel, Mitchell Donlan, Meagan Douglass, Luke Budman, Jacob Facchini, Samantha Fielding, Christopher Forrest, Amy Gilfeather, Marcus Golman, Coen Good, Ben Goodwin, Sarah Gore, Harrison Hall, Cameron Hardy, Maxwell Harrison, Maddison Haynes, Claire Hewson, Bradley Hirzinger, Rowan Humerston, Esther Jamieson, Corinne Johnston, Pearce Kelly, Alice Kerkham, Amy Kidston, Matthew Knights, Rachael Kyle, Jenna Lantouris, Monique Leddy, Mitchell Lightfoot, Zachary Lloyd, Erin Martin, Brock McCall, Emma Molenaar, Stephanie Morris, Thomas Nichols, Tyson Pan, Dylan Powell, Wade Rattray, Michael Rixon, Guy Roast, Joseph Robinson, Joseph Rooney, Jessica Rootsey, Stephanie Routledge, Troy Russell, Casidhe Rutter, Selina Sky, Samantha Stewart, Simon Sweeney, Amy Thorn, Joelle Turner, Kirstie Walker, Tayla-Ann Wallace, Christopher Ward, David Wells, Samuel Wells, Peter White, Shaunie Whitmore, Ross Wilkinson, Jared Wood-Johnston and Nicholas Yates.
BOTTOM: Carroll College Year 12 students include: Daniel Allard, Lydia Bartulovich, Alexander Belle, Anita Bennett, David Binstock, Nathan Blackburn, Christopher Bowerman, Sivannah Brooks, Joshua Broome, Samuel Buchanan, Joshua Connaughton, James Cornall, Lachlan Costello, Rachael Cunninghame, Jarrod Dibden, Rebecca Downes, Marymajella Dubbelaar, Teagan Dunn, Guy Ewin, Christopher Fane, Aiden Feeney, Emily Fitzgerald, Emma-Lee Gill, Sally Gladwin, Hayley Griffin, Madison Griffin, Benjamin Grima, Rhiannon Hair, Rebecca Hammond, Tamara Hart, Edward Hatton, Jessica Hayes, Caroline Hopkins, Madeleine Hornby, Matthew Hulme, David Jacka, Nicholas Kearney-Miners, Samantha Kennedy, Richard Lloyd, Lachlan MacDonald, Claire Mackay, Amy McClelland, Jessica McGann, Mathew McRae, Christopher Murdock, Courtney O’Connell, Daniel Perrem, Kerri-Anne Regan, Luke Robbins, Molly Rodwell, Mitchell Shaw, Patrick Sisnaiske, Hannah Smith, Philip Smith, Candice Smyth, Cassandra Staples, Kyle Stolzenhein, Rachel Taylor, Caitlyn Vardy, Joshua Veneris, Jessica Walton, Teigan Wignell, and Dale Wowk.