educationand life skills Preparing for what comes next For my fellow Year 12 s and I, this is it.
Our final year at a school that has done so much for us.
When I think about myself five years ago, I think of an entirely different person.
I was a bit of a wallflower, someone that didn t like taking risks and liked to blend into the background.
And now, I look back on the many occasions I have stood right here, talking in assembly, and on all the other things I ve done that I would never have been able to do, had I been at any other school.
Woodleigh has brought me up and allowed me to become who I am today - someone who can take risks and who is able to stand up and talk to all of you.
Everyone says that Woodleigh is different to other schools.
Having never attended anywhere else, I don t know for sure, but I have a feeling that there aren t many places like it.
When I really started to think about what made it different, I realised that s just it it s the way Woodleigh makes me think.
I have unconsciously adopted a philosophy that I m going to call the Woodleigh Way.
I m sure you are all familiar with this concept like the way Homestead Sports allow everyone to contribute and enjoy themselves.
Or, for those of you that have and for the rest that will, the Hattah camp of Year 10.
Hattah was something that epitomizes Woodleigh for me.
It was an experience that took me way out of my comfort zone.
But more than that, it was a place that allowed me to see what s really important and to gain a much wider perspective when I returned home.
It is this way of thinking and acting that will remain with me long after I leave this school.
Over the years, Woodleigh has offered me an independence I don t think I would have found anywhere else.
It has allowed me to think for myself and take on challenges I never thought I could face.
I ve done debating - something that will always be nerdy but nevertheless, something I really enjoyed.
I have organized events and stood up for causes that really matter to me.
I ve made wonderful friends and had wonderful teachers.
All of this comes back to the Woodleigh Way.
It s a philosophy that promotes independence of thought and has, in turn, allowed me to become an individual - able to stand on my own, even after I leave this school.
And so, Woodleigh s philosophy has become mine.
A way of thinking, of approaching new things and taking advantage of new opportunities.
What does Woodleigh mean to me It means choosing what I wear in the morning, feeling on equal footing with my teachers, knowing that my ideas are my own and finally, it is the knowledge that I am prepared for whatever comes next.
I can go out into the world knowing I have the skills to deal with whatever the next chapter in my life brings.
Woodleigh has been more than just a chapter in my life.
It has been more than a stepping stone.
This school has shaped me as a student and as an individual and I know that I will carry all that Woodleigh has given me for the rest of my life.
I will build on it as I get older, but I will always have the Woodleigh Way in mind and I will always look back on my time here fondly.
But, as I am on my way out, there is someone new who will experience and build upon all that Woodleigh has to offer.
- Jamila Djafar Khoja Woodleigh School Year 12 student 2011.
We are buildinga new home for our VCE students.
Woodleigh School s new VCE centre opens this July.
students who are BIG THINKERS Do-ers, can do-ers, problem solvers, leaders innovators Designed to offer our Senior Students their own place in the school to learn and study, our new VCE Centre is flexible, offering big classroom spaces, an even bigger exam and presentation space and smaller, quiet spaces for independent study, group work and discussion.
askers of important questionsFor more information about School tours and enrolment opportunities visit woodleigh.vic.edu.au or call Bruce McCallum, Director of Enrolments, on 5971 6100.
which saw 55 of our students gain ATAR scores of 80 or more a MEDIAN ATAR of 81.3 RESULTS VCE...on www.gdlife.com.au 97