The Valediction Speech - Original and Unabridged

Graduation Day 2006 – Valediction

A very good morning to Mr. Wong, our principal, Ms Sandra Gwee, our vice principal, teachers, and fellow Dunearnites.

It is my honour to stand here today to deliver the valediction for this year’s graduation ceremony.

First and foremost, I would like to extend, on behalf of all the graduating students, our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the teachers for all that they have done for us. [A round of applause for the teachers (if necessary)]

Dunearn Secondary School has been the place where we’ve made the transition from a young student to a young adult brimming with youthful energy. It has been the place where we’ve lived out one of the most important phases of our lives, namely, our teenage years. It has also been the place where our ideals and ambitions have been shaped. Most importantly, Dunearn has been the place where all of us have gone through good times and bad times; the centre stage of all the melodrama of secondary school life, the memories of which will be indelibly etched into our minds.

I recall when we first entered Dunearn, it was very much of a culture shock. For example, we had to juggle 9 subjects in Secondary 1 instead of the basic 4 subjects in primary 6. That was the one of the first challenges we had to face. Perhaps the initial thoughts that ran through our minds were those of making new friends and adapting to this new and unfamiliar environment. Then as we progressed through the year, friendships were forged and broken; cliques were formed, all of which were part and parcel of secondary school life.

The second year of our academic career in Dunearn was perhaps one of the more memorable ones. As all of us had stayed together in the same class, the fun we had was perhaps doubled or tripled. It was our streaming year as well. Competition set in and the classroom environment became more competitive. 2004 went by very quickly and before we knew it, the end of year exams arrived. The atmosphere was tense when we gathered back in school during the holidays to find out which classes we were assigned to. Some of us got what we wanted, some of us did not. But it still worked out in the end.

Secondary 3 was a fun and eventful year, a golden year as some would put it. Firstly, we were in new classes and there was an air of excitement. Then came the Secondary 3 Camp, which I did not get to participate, but nonetheless I would like to relate the experiences of some of my friends. To Ee Chen of 4 E5, it was a camp which allowed interaction between students of different classes and provided an environment for the nurturing of teamwork in students who are almost strangers to each other. Bindy of 4 E2 felt that it was more of an opportunity to nurture personal leadership, conquer personal fears and step out of the comfort zone to try something new. After the Secondary 3 camp, the selection of the inaugural batch of student leaders began. This was an important milestone in Dunearn’s entire 44 year history and I hope that student leadership, with its fine structure, will be a tradition in Dunearn and a leading example to other schools.

This year, has been a busy year for many of us. This year featured the Peer Tutorial programme, which would prepare us for the upcoming O level examinations. I am sure all of us would remember the long hours we spent in school doing up the work conscientiously and meticulously prepared by our teachers. And I am confident that all our hard work, inclusive of the teachers’, will not go to waste.

We must also remember that we’ve celebrated many events together, and it is this togetherness that has bolstered the Dunearn spirit in many of us. Other than the Gongxi Raya and National Day celebrations, we also have Dunearnite and DGIG which are unique to Dunearn. I am sure most of us here will remember the enrichment programmes that we have gone through, such as the kayaking course in Sec 3.These events have provided a good number of us with ample opportunities to develop ourselves into all- rounded Dunearnites.

Once again, I would like to thank the teachers for your inexhaustible patience in putting up with all our mischief, your tireless dedication and commitment, and most of all your constant guidance.

A chapter of our lives have been written in Dunearn, and another will soon begin. I would like to end with these words from Winston Churchill: Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Thank you.