Finals Footy and Finishing Well

During the term break most of us watched the AFL Grand Final. This year’s game gave a brutally blunt reminder that it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

I was lucky enough to be there at the mighty MCG.

With under five minutes left, Fremantle led Brisbane by 17 points and the Freo supporters believed they had it in the bag. They even rang their beloved bells; yes, Freo boldly declared ‘Wharfie Time’! Instead of collapsing in despair, Brisbane Lions answered with four unanswered goals in those final four minutes and won by seven points. It was an unforgettable sporting moment. ‘Wharfie Time’ became woeful time for Freo.

Sport often teaches us about life, in this Grand Final the final minutes mattered.

For our Year 12 students, the school year has reached a similar point. Most of the work has already been done. The lessons are done. The school-based assessments are completed. Their teachers have taught the course. Students have studied, and for those who are now preparing for exams, these final few weeks still matter.

One of the peculiar things about exams is that they often reward small decisions made consistently. Another hour of revision. One more practice paper. Turning up to a revision session ready to learn when it would be easier to mentally check out. None of these actions are dramatic, but together they have a habit of making a difference.

Some of our exam-preparing students might be tempted at this point in the year to think that the important work is behind them. In part that is true … but it isn’t, because the challenge is the unpredictable element of exams. Until the exams are over, they ain’t over.

That is why finishing well matters.

Not because a few weeks of study can completely rewrite the previous thirteen years of schooling. They can’t. But these weeks are an opportunity to make the most of the preparation, knowledge and experience that students have already accumulated.

As a Christian school, we often emphasise faithfulness. Faithfulness is not usually spectacular. More often it looks like continuing to do what is right and worthwhile even when enthusiasm has begun to fade. Being faithful is a steady slog not a sudden sprint.

To our Year 12 students who will sit exams, we, your parent and your teachers encourage you to approach these final weeks in that spirit. Take your studies seriously. Support one another. Listen to your teachers. Do the work that is in front of you.

Then, when the final siren eventually sounds, you can leave knowing that you made the most of the opportunities you were given.

As we know, doing well is worth doing; regardless of the result.

david gleeson, principal