by Sequoia Thomson, Year 13 Student, Kaipara College
We are officially past halfway through the year! July 2nd marked the exact middle of the year, and whilst we are only a little past it, it must come as a relief to many.
Whilst, of course, we should always try to enjoy time as it passes and not live our moments in the past or present, I know personally that I am glad my time at school is coming to a close. Whilst I do love to reflect upon the incredible and wonderful moments of the past few years of high school, all the exciting things I’ve done, and the people I have met and now love, I very much can feel that, deep down, I am ready for change. I am ready to move on to something new!
Speaking of something new, over the course of this term, the student leaders, including myself, have spent some of our time going around and visiting local primary schools in the surrounding area to encourage new students to come to Kaipara College. We were in charge of the big responsibility of speaking about all the wonderful features of our school, and brushed upon subjects including our incredible sports teams, very, very cool science department, and wonderful arts department.
In terms of the arts department, as I am writing this, Paradise the musical has completed its incredible week of shows! I myself went to the closing night show on Saturday 15th August, and I was completely wowed by the very awesome set and the wonderful singing. The entire musical was written by Kaipara’s own drama teacher, Stephen Lunt, and the music and lyrics were all done by Nick Roberts, our fantastic Music teacher. A massive round of applause to the entire cast for pulling this all together, especially in such a short period of time. Every single actor did so well!
I also have a little message to any student who is feeling exhausted, stressed or overwhelmed. While it seems backwards, keep going! Don’t just stop; just learn to manage your time, commitments and energy levels. Get good sleep, plan out your days, and remember to have fun. If you need a day of rest for yourself and your mental health, take one - but remember to still study a little. We are so close to the finish line, but I know this last mile is the hardest, especially with NCEA and end-of-year exams and tests for our younger students. But when you cross it, it’s the absolute most rewarding experience; I speak from experience.
I will leave you with these last couple of words from Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and abolitionist from the 1800’s;
“When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
