The end of a school career

Dear young Adult

Here you are at the end of your school career! It was a dozen or more years since your parents enrolled you in your first grade. What an amazing achievement! One more hurdle to overcome and your school days are over for ever. Done and dusted! Well done! 

Tonight, is your matric farewell and it is your last official social event. This is also a very special and once in a lifetime event. Some of you might have been in the same class or grade since your first grade, some not. Some of you might see each other again in the adult world, some not. Important, however, is that you are here and your life has been spared by the grace of God. There is a purpose for you. Amazing! 

As the Rector of Academy of Excellence, it is a privilege for me to have been part of your final years at school. The November exams will be the final chapter of your school career but the first chapter of your journey into the adult world out there. Many opportunities are waiting for you, many challenges will lie ahead and you will have to make many choices and take the consequences thereof yourself. 

Your parents, families and teachers have been preparing you for the years to come. You will have moments where you will remember these people and what they have done for you. There will also be moments where you will regret a few things and opportunities you have missed. 

Maybe you didn’t have all the support which others had and maybe you did suffer a few setbacks. But, fact of the matter is, you are here. You have reached this milestone. 

It is never too late to work very hard to achieve the best results you can. It will be worth it to set all other activities apart for the next two months and to focus on your studies. You will never regret it. Your own future will thank you for making this decision and give your utmost best. Strive to achieve the best results possible, strive to aim high and achieve above average. Set your target higher, lift the bar and surprise yourself. 

I would like to wish you all the best, motivate you to never give up and to try to see each paper as a challenge to achieve great marks. Make sure you have inner peace before start writing, take a few deep breaths, read the paper properly, answer the questions you know well first, read through the other questions again, try to answer them and read through all the questions again. Make sure you are numbering your answers according to the question numbers. Match the time you spend on each question according to the allocated marks. Manage your exam paper, don’t let the paper manage you. Pray for an open mind. 

I pray that you will be successful and that you will be proud of your well-deserved matric certificate. 

WJ Havenga
Rector 

Psalm 8