The Last Word

By Henry Stowers | Posted: Monday July 23, 2018

Welcome back boys. I hope that you all have enjoyed your holidays and wished it was just a bit longer.

Let me ask you guys a question. Put your hands up if you’re happy to be back. Well we now know who the liars are. But, if you guys are happy to be back, that’s amazing. I know that some of you would rather spend an extra week in Cambodia or spend some time in the beautiful city of Paris or just do something that is completely unrelated to school. Because I’m sure that many of you in this auditorium are sick of school already. But we are here!

Perseverance, it’s one of this great school’s values. The word perseverance means being persistent in doing something, despite difficulty or delay, in achieving success. The boys of this school have always shown perseverance despite challenging odds. Showing perseverance means you stand strong for the crest on your blazer, standing strong for your brothers who go to this school no matter what challenges you face. Now the opposite of perseverance is laziness. This school has produced athletes and scholars. This was only possible if the students themselves were able to stand their ground and face the challenges head on. They stood strong, as the tall poppies they were.

We have about roughly 13 weeks of school left, 65 days to get everything ready for NCEA. This may sound like a lot of time but it’s not. It’s not! But this doesn’t mean you can wait around to the last minute to study for exams. Remember, there are still the practice exams to look forward to. Term 3, I reckon, is the busiest term of the year. This is when the internals you thought you had plenty of time to do, edge closer to that due date. Practice tests for your practice exams start creeping around the corner. And then there are also the practice exams to look forward to. Goodness you've got to love Term 3! To make sure that you prepare well for these, study! For those who wait til the last minute to study, you’re all going to be like “oh what should I study, should I study this or that and this subject that I don’t even have a clue about, what’s going on” and before you know it, you’re sitting in your rooms, pen in hand, ready for your exam. Make it easier on yourself by not waiting to the last minute to study, do some study each night.

Some of us will struggle and find this term challenging, but that’s when you have got to look at yourself and realise that you are an OBHS student. This school has teachers and all you need to do is ask for help. It’s as simple as that. This school is filled with students who face these challenges head on and persevere. If you’re not one of the students, then you’re at the wrong school. We face challenges every day, whether it’s deciding to get out of bed or even deciding whether education is even worth your time. All these challenges and yet you’re still here, you still haven’t given up.

All of you are going to persevere and come out on top. Remember you have two choices. One is to persevere. To carry on this term and finish strong. The other is to give up, to be lazy. If you’ve given up, that’s really disappointing especially since your brother next to you is still trying. We have 13 weeks left, let’s use that time wisely.

As tradition I’d like to finish off with a quote. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

Thank you.