02 MAR 2024 College Dux: Leading the way

College Dux: Leading the way

The prestigious title of the College Dux is awarded to one Year 12 student who has achieved the highest VCE ATAR score at the College for a particular academic year. This esteemed accolade signifies exceptional performance across all facets of school life, with a particular emphasis on academic excellence and a commitment to personal growth. We are proud to announce that Grace Elisha has been named the Kolbe Catholic College Dux for 2023. Grace demonstrated unwavering dedication and outstanding proficiency in multiple subjects, securing the highest Study Scores in Mathematics Methods, Health & Human Development, Chemistry, and English. Her exemplary achievements reflect her tireless pursuit of excellence and serve as an inspiration to her peers and the entire College community.

A Message to Our Community

Good morning, Mr Scully, staff, guests, and students of Kolbe Catholic College. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to speak with you all today as we celebrate the incredible achievements of the Class of 2023.

I just wanted to begin by acknowledging our year level. Year 12 was a big period of change, and I believe we all persevered, grew, and improved in many different ways over the course of last year. I’d say that’s a big thing to look forward to in the final year of high school.

On that note, yes, there are things to look forward to in your final year of high school! I know that younger me would raise her eyebrow at this next statement, but many graduates will tell you that Year 12 was one of their most enjoyable years. We did experience stress and fatigue, but we also had much more FREEDOM and events to look forward to, and many of us grew closer to our classmates than we thought we ever would!

Now, this next part is especially for the current VCE students, but it’s also relevant to younger year levels!

Use. Your. Teachers. You’re not annoying them! They want you to ask them all the questions that you have: this is one of the best ways to improve academically.

Also in Year 12, it’s so important to be consistent with your studies. But studying doesn’t have to drain your life. You can get creative with it! If you benefit more from watching YouTube videos that explain Chemistry content than passively reading over your notes, do that! If it helps you more to explain the Legal System to your dog than to use Quizlet, who’s going stop you, honestly. Once, I held a biology class for my teddy bears in my room and my family was pretty weirded out, BUT IT WORKED FOR ME!

ANYWAY. It’s not that I’m saying you should throw traditional revision out the window. Practice questions and essays are crucial. My point is that consistency—not necessarily constant, strenuous studying—is very key.

Aside from studying, I’d like to place some emphasis on these four things:

Praying, taking breaks, eating, and sleeping.

Regardless of what your vision of success is at the end of Year 12, these things will help to sustain you and prevent you from burning out so quickly. I’d recommend not to neglect these things, even if it means just saying a short prayer every day, or sleeping for an hour longer than you would like to.

And for all the students who feel pressured academically: Good results and a good ATAR are often very helpful when it comes to reaching career goals easier or quicker. But I wasted all of my energy losing my mind over the exams, and the next second it had been 2 weeks after ATAR release and I had pretty much forgotten about it. This is a cliché, but doing your best in Year 12 is all you can do, and trust that the results that follow will match the amount of effort that you put in. And even if that isn’t the case, there are still so many more pathways at your feet after Year 12.

I’d like to wrap up now with some thank you’s.

To all our teachers throughout high school, especially my Year 12 teachers, Mr Benton, Ms Ibrido, Ms Todorovic, Mr Mac, Ms Kift, and Ms McKibbin. Thank you for being our mentors, and always motivating us and going above and beyond to help us achieve our best, even when we didn’t want to.

To my friends, you guys really made VCE so much easier by just being there with me. The memories we made both in the classroom and outside of it are really what made high school worth it, so thank you.

To all our parents, thank you for giving us the opportunity to go to school, and loving us and supporting us throughout our education.

And to my family especially…I’m sorry you had to deal with me. :) Seriously though, nothing would have been achievable without you guys, so thank you for absolutely everything that you’ve done for me.

So… Thank you to the entire Kolbe community for all of your support throughout the years, and may God be with all of the current and future students as they travel through their schooling years.

God bless.

Grace Elisha