Tara Duckworth, 2019 Dux of the Class, St Andrew’s Catholic College

I THOUGHT I was done with school, but it seems as though school wasn’t done with me, as I present yet another speech.

But in all seriousness, I am honoured to be recognised as joint dux of the class of 2019. This is a particularly monumental moment for me, as I am about to present the shortest speech I’ve ever written.

After all my years at St Andrew’s, I’ve finally managed to stay within the word count. By now, after a few weeks in school, you’ve probably asked yourself how on earth you’re going to manage to juggle the insane workload that’s been given to you.

When I entered the senior years I definitely had to up my commitment to studying in order to stay on top of it all.

That being said, it is also important to engage in extracurricular activities or other hobbies so that you have an activity to relieve stress and prevent burnout.

Time management is key in balancing these activities with school, work and everything else you’ve got going on in life.

In addition to this, here are some tips to help you be successful in school.

Number one, start everything as soon as you can.

Trust me your future self will be praising you.

But I know that this can sometimes be super-difficult especially when you have a tonne of other assignments and exams to prepare for.

But even then, just opening a document and putting in a title is sufficient, because I feel like that way your brain then registers it as an ongoing task that needs to be completed rather than something you’ll keep putting off because you haven’t even started yet.

My second tip, and this is mainly for exams, but it is to incorporate teaching when you study. It is a well-known fact that the best way to check if you understand something is by teaching someone.

This is because you need to have a firm grasp of a concept in order to explain it to someone in simple terms.

My final tip, perhaps the most important, is sleep. If there’s one thing I wish I’d done last year it would have been to have slept more.

I am positive that I would’ve been able to do things quicker, smarter and calmer if I’d just had a couple more hours the night before.

This is just one of the many reasons why I believe school should start at 10am but I digress.

So to sum it up, start early, teach someone and get some sleep.

I’d also tell you not to stress but let’s be honest, that’s not going to help much.

Of my time at St Andrew’s, I have been lucky to be surrounded by excellent teachers who truly do their best by their students and lose more sleep than they should over your exams.

Your senior years are undoubtedly some of your most difficult in your life, yet they are also some of your most memorable.

From camps and formals, Years 10-12 is a whirlwind of activity and milestones that pass by way too quickly to take too seriously, so don’t forget to ensure that they are not just a testament of your academic ability, but a celebration with your friends and family of the end of an era. Soon, you will, like me, stand at the edge of an abyss of doubt and uncertainty for the future, that is equally exhilarating as it is frightening.

But at least at this abyss, you can wear whatever socks you want, however short they may be.

I wish you every success in your studies in 2020. And good luck. You’ll need it.