It’s true what they say about your final year of high school - time really does fly and in the Year 12 Common Room it's busy as usual as our first semester draws to a close. It’s easy for us to get stuck in our little hive in the SLC, but I’ve learnt over these past few months that finding an escape, whether it’s in the new PA, on the courts, fields or the gym, or my personal favourite, a power nap on the Quad, is just as important.

Our first semester exams have been and gone; however, the action is set only to continue with Term Three assessment getting underway, and our Senior Ball a mere week away. There’s something cathartic about replacing crucial academic stress with inconsequential formal anxiety… Some would call it obsessive procrastination or denial, I’m calling it therapeutic!

Once the Senior Ball comes and goes in the blink of an eyelash extension, the triple threats among us will take to the stage for the Senior Musical, our yearly opportunity to marvel at our peers’ superior abilities, while they marvel at how much more free time we have than they do. It’s a win/lose situation. And then, finally, we will be met with three glorious weeks of “Getting Ahead On Our Academic Studies”, and maybe a day or two of sleep for variety. I’m only half joking. Legend tells us that the wrath of Term Three spoken of only in whispers will come down on us harder than a Texan Republican. However, with the unwavering support and endless Freddo Frogs provided by Mrs Cornell and Signor Ham, I have faith that the Class of 2019 will make it out the other side relatively unscathed. In all seriousness, we are completely indebted to them both, as well as the rest of the incredible Somerset staff who keep us positive and mostly sane when we are struck with particularly extreme bouts of Senioritis (the World Health Organisation categorises this condition as a highly contagious virus - stay safe out there).

Year 12 is a wild year, but there are so many things to feel pretty darn great about nonetheless. If you’re a fellow Senior reading this, go and a) lie outside on the grass, b) listen to your favourite song while taking some DEEP breaths, or c) watch an episode of your favourite show. If you’re a parent of a Senior reading this, I’m really sorry. I know we’re moody all the time. It’ll be over soon. If you’re a parent of a future Senior, get excited because the best and the worst is yet to come.

Here’s to a wild and wonderful Semester Two!

Subscribe to our newsletter