Celebrating, honouring and farewelling the Class of 2022

This has been an amazing week in the Senior School, during which we have been able to celebrate, honour and farewell our Year 12 Class of 2022 in the style they deserve.

We started the week’s celebrations at St Paul’s Cathedral and Melbourne Park, and we finish it as one community, reflecting on where it all began. Our final day together is full of surprises, including a guest appearance from the Class of 2034, our wonderful Preps.

There were so may highlights this week, one of which was the House Celebrations, which took place this afternoon. This new tradition allowed Heads of House and mentors to celebrate and acknowledge every student in a more intimate setting. Caitlyn’s reflection below emphasises the impactful role that House plays in the life of our School.

Our Year 12s leave us with every best wish – we can’t wait to see what awaits them in their lives beyond Carey.

House becomes your family: by Caitlin, Year 12
In Year 7 they tell you your House becomes your family, and I don’t think I truly understood what this meant until I was in Year 12. Now I see it. The mentors and Heads of House become your at-school parents whilst your mentor group and peers become your brothers and sisters of various ages. When Mr Trevaskis asked me to write this, straight away I thought that what house means to me is family.

The House system at Carey is a community where friendships are created. Some of my closest friends have been formed through House and I will treasure them forever. At school, House becomes your safe place where you feel comfortable and cared for. Especially in Year 12, it has been a great escape from the stress and ongoing work as well as a fantastic support system. I loved the connections I made throughout this year, and getting to bond with not only those who are my age, but the younger years as well has been something very special to me and wouldn’t have been possible without House.

Some of my highlights of this year have been from House events like House Music where everyone gets together and has a laugh. House days are about stepping out of your comfort zone and learning to participate regardless of your skill level. Personally, this has made me more resilient in trying new things that I would not normally do, like this year getting up on stage with Romy and performing a solo in front of the entire Senior School.

Here in Hickman, we have managed to build such a special family, and the connections we make in House are unbreakable and forever lasting. We are there for each other through the good and the bad and even during lockdown, I remember the morning mentor calls with Mrs Clements and Luca giving Georgia and me a house tour.

I would like to thank the mentors Mr Crawshaw, Mrs Clements, Miss Hall, Mr O’shea and Mr Allsop and a big thank you to our Head of House Mr Trevasksis, for the support and guidance throughout our Senior School experience, we couldn’t have done it without you. The House teachers are the teachers you get to build a proper connection with and can go to for everything and anything. I am extremely grateful that Carey has such a strong emphasis on the House program. It is something I’ll definitely miss and be forever grateful for.

Thank you.

Kellie Lyneham
Head of Senior School