There are people in this School who know our potential before we do. Who see something in us on the days we cannot see it ourselves. And who somehow always know when you are using your laptop for anything except schoolwork.

I want to take a moment to recognise those people, our teachers. Teachers are a bit like Wi-Fi. You do not always notice them when everything is working, but the moment they are gone, everything falls apart.

And despite this, we test them every day. Not just academically, but emotionally as well. Because it takes a special kind of person to explain the same concept five different ways, answer “Will this be on the test?” multiple times in a lesson, and somehow stay calm when someone asks, immediately after a detailed explanation, “Wait, what are we doing?”

Teachers do so much more than teach subjects. Every day they walk into rooms full of sleep-deprived teenagers who forget pens, forget homework and sometimes forget what day it is, yet somehow never forget when there is a free period. And still, they show up.

They show up when we are stressed. They show up when we are overwhelmed. They show up when we are unmotivated. They are the people who tell us, “You will be okay,” while also reminding us, “You probably should have started this earlier.” That is support and honesty in perfect balance.

We will not remember every lesson. We will not remember every test, every worksheet or every learning objective written on the board. But we will remember the teacher who made us laugh on a really hard day. The one who noticed something was wrong before we had said a word. The one who made us feel capable of more than we thought. That is not just teaching. That is something much bigger than teaching.

Because when I look around the School, I see students who have been quietly shaped by their teachers. Not just by the content they taught us, but by the way they taught it. By their patience. By the moments they stayed back after class, sent an encouraging message before an exam, or simply looked at us and said, “You can do this.”

The impact teachers have on our lives goes far beyond classrooms, assessments and reports. They shape the people we become. They encourage us when we are struggling. They challenge us when we could do better. They give up their time to answer questions, explain things again, stay back after class, coach teams, organise activities and support students in ways that often go unnoticed.

So, on behalf of the students, thank you. Thank you for your patience, your encouragement, your dedication and your belief in us. Thank you for everything you do behind the scenes and for the countless ways you help us grow, both inside and outside the classroom.

Most importantly, thank you for choosing a profession that changes lives every single day. And if nothing else, thank you for not quitting after the first week of teaching.

*Each week, Wenona’s student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.