Final Prefect's Address

Legacy and Service

Outgoing 2024-2025 Head Prefect Zara, shares her farewells and tributes as we mark a changing of the guard in Wenona student leadership.

Each week, our student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.

In previous speeches, I have acknowledged the pivotal figures who have shaped my journey. Today, I must rectify a glaring omission that has earned me considerable animosity at home.  

The person I wish to honour sits among us - my sister, Year 8 student Charlotte. Charlotte’s creativity flows through her artistic endeavours and intricate crochet work, she skis, plays netball, touch football, and soccer. Her genuine kindness and grace define her character and inspire me every day.

Charlotte had no idea I would be doing this, but I don’t feel bad because I am an older sister, and naturally I believe in using your power for good – so Charlotte, please stand up so everyone can see you properly. I have realised that I do not practise gratitude nearly enough and want to thank you for being my number one supporter since the beginning.  

Now I would like to extend my thanks up to the bleachers, where sits a group of roughly 172 students who met six years ago in the Undercroft, a year group destined to become synonymous with Ms Webb’s office queue, as TikTok captivated our attention and our fingers became well trained in the art of Tetris.  

Year 7 was a key milestone; NAPLAN had us quaking in our boots.  

We then moved on to the big Year 8, no longer the smallest fish in the pond but humbled by our PDHPE Zoom classes, where a beautiful display of cheerleading could be seen. 

Upon returning to School and moving up into Year 9, Room 7 became for us a sanctuary of peaceful revolution and intellectual discourse. 

Year 10 marked our volta - a poetic turning point where we weathered the elements near the Café driveway, finding solace and inspiration in the meditative presence of koi fishponds within our year group ‘party on the hill’. 

Year 11 was a step into the ‘big girl’ space of West Commons. After some time, we discovered our new-found Senior College privileges offered almost too many options, many of them expensive. Our optimism met its match the moment "preliminary examinations" entered our vocabulary, a trauma from which I personally have yet to fully recover. 

Now, as Year 12 students, we possess the gift of perspective. We recognise that the challenges of the junior years: friendship complexities, examination stress, the eternal mufti-day wardrobe crisis, persist in Senior College but undergo profound transformation. We no longer fixate solely on the abrasive grit of difficult experiences but instead appreciate the lustrous pearl that emerges from them. 

So, I thank you Year 12 for not only being my friends, but my ‘family’ and I wish us all luck in our final weeks of school and the upcoming Trial Examinations.  

I extend this thank you to our teachers, who have been the architects of this transformation, going far beyond the curriculum in their support of us. You have been mentors, advocates, steady hands and comedians when we needed levity. You've celebrated our successes with genuine pride, guided us through our failures with patient wisdom, and somehow managed to see potential in us, even when we couldn't see it in ourselves. 

I would like to personally thank the Prefects, House Captains, Sports Captains, Global Captains and Cadet Leaders for their unwavering dedication, leadership, and commitment to our School community.  

Finally, thank you to the younger girls for allowing us the honour of leading you. 

It has been both a privilege and a humbling experience to serve as Head Prefect for 2024-2025. I will share with you a final pearl of wisdom... 

Our school motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve, is often said with too little engagement. 

While Ut Prosim began as something I didn’t understand,  it has proven more valuable to me than anything else.  

Ut Prosim means to serve with kindness, to service with love, to serve knowing that all your contributions may be behind the scenes and seemingly go unnoticed; Ut Prosim means sacrifice. 

For me, Ut Prosim means many nights stressed about initiatives, my impact and leadership; tiring late nights on Cadet camp and showing up even when you feel that’s all you can manage to do.  

But above all, I think Ut Prosim, that I may serve is a concept that will fulfill you and give back to you more than you put in - you just have to let it.  

I know there have been copious amounts of brilliant leadership demonstrated by Year 12 this past year. As Head Prefect, I hope that at least in some capacity, this leadership has included a portrayal of the spirit of Ut Prosim.  

Thank you for a truly meaningful year. It is with both genuine gratitude and a touch of melancholy that I now step down from this role, proud to hand over to the cohort of 2025-2026. 

I thank you all for making what has been both the scariest and most exciting time of my almost 18-years of life full of laughter and pride.  

Stay safe and healthy, study lots, learn new things and laugh more.